


Over Dinner

by pcworth



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 09:45:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 49,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10851432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pcworth/pseuds/pcworth
Summary: This is an AU story where Emma meets Regina who is the owner of one of New York's hottest restaurants. They start out as friends after an unusual meeting but Emma at least would like to be more than friends





	1. Chapter 1

Regina wouldn't normally bring her son Henry to work with her, but she had been left with very little choice. Her ex-husband, Stephen, had dropped Henry back off at her place just as she was preparing to leave for work. Stephen said he had an emergency meeting for work out of town that he could not miss.

It had erupted into yet another huge fight as she accused him of being unfair and his "emergency meeting" probably having more to do with his current slut of the month than his job.

He had shot back with words that stung more than she thought possible. And it wasn't because the words hurt her.

Stephen was standing there near the door trying to leave when she made her accusation.

"He's not even my kid," Stephen yelled.

Regina had taken a step back not believing that this was a man she had once loved.

"Get out," she said.

"Gladly."

She stood there for several minutes trying to process what had happened and how she had gotten to this place when Henry came around the corner. One look was all it took for her to know he had heard.

It wasn't as if Henry didn't know he was adopted. They hadn't made a secret out of it or anything, but for Stephen to say that crossed a line.

"I'm sorry," Regina said bending down in front of him. "I am sorry this situation between your dad and I has gotten like this. I will talk to him when he gets back."

"He's not my dad."

"Oh Henry. He didn't mean …"

"Yes he did. I don't want to see him anymore."

"You're upset and you have every right to be but Stephen has rights too as your parent."

"He doesn't want to be my dad," Henry protested. "You were right; he is going away with some woman for the weekend. It has nothing to do with work. I heard them talking and he said that he wished he didn't have to bother with me at all but his lawyer said if he didn't then he would have to pay more child support to you and he wasn't going to do that."

As much as her blood was boiling with anger right now she didn't want Henry to see that. Instead she embraced him.

"We will figure something out," she said. "You and me together."

"Always," he responded.

It was a little saying that had

She had to rush around after that to make arrangements – her best friend Katherine agreed to swing by and pick Henry up but it wouldn't be until later which is why she was now taking Henry into work with her.

It wasn't as if anyone was likely to say a word to her about it. After all, when you owned one of New York's hottest restaurants people didn't say much to you.

Emma walked into the restaurant in one of her most form-fitting dresses. It not only hugged her body, which was good for trapping her prey, but it was also short, which was good for her if this required more movement than she was expecting.

She had been flirting with this guy online for weeks and they were finally meeting face to face at a rather fancy restaurant. She knew he was trying to impress her with taking her to such a swank place.

Normally she wasn't much for fine dining. Frankly, while her job paid well, fine dining in New York was still out of her price range.

She wondered if she would at least get the chance to get a small bite of an appetizer.

Somehow she doubted it.

She looked around and saw the guy she was meeting.

"Brian?" she asked hesitantly as he approached her.

"Emma," he smiled.

He helped her into her seat.

"I got to say you look beautiful," he said as he took his seat.

"Thank you. You look just like your photo which I have to say is a relief. Internet dating is a scary proposition sometimes."

"Oh yes, you never know if the picture the person uploaded is really them."

"Or cut from a Victoria Secret's website," she finished.

They smiled at each other. "I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of ordering us some wine," he said showing her the bottle.

"A glass would be great."

He poured her some wine and she took a sip of it. Damn, she thought, if the wine is this good she was definitely going to be disappointed when they didn't even make it to the meal.

"So tell me about yourself," he prompted.

"I m afraid there isn't much to say. I am single, obviously, I like to go running in the morning, I enjoy a nice bubble bath. Most of my time is taken up by my job."

"What is it that you do?" he asked.

"I am a bail bondsman."

"Oh," he said. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means when people are arrested and their loved ones for instance their wife pays the bail, but can't afford the entire amount I put up the rest of the money. The problem comes when that person jumps bail. You see it's my job to track them down and bring them back to the police. It protects my investment in the whole venture. And it's actually quite fun, especially when the criminal in question has embezzled nearly a half a million from his employer and is now on a date while his wife is at home wondering how she is going to deal with any of this."

She knew the moment she was part way through the speech that she had a runner on her hands. He tipped the table towards her and as she backed away – still getting wine splashed on her, he ran for it. He didn't go toward the front doors though, he went toward the back.

Regina decided to keep herself busy that night in the kitchen. This allowed her to keep an eye on Henry while also doing something she loved – cooking. She had worked her way up the ranks in the kitchen before becoming the head chef several years ago at another restaurant. She always knew she wanted to be a chef, much to her parents chagrin. They supported her entirely in her dream, but when your father is a U.S. Ambassador to the Untied Nations and your mother is a well-known civil rights attorney, there are certain expectations there.

She grew up never having to worry about things like money. She lived a life of privilege that afforded her the opportunity to indulge in her love of cooking.

She opened her own restaurant nearly four years ago and it was constantly booked and had been given rave reviews. Owning the restaurant didn't always allow for her to be there in the kitchen which is where she preferred to be. She usually needed to make appearances on the floor and glad hand with celebrities or other members of the well-to-do in order to keep up the good will.

Tonight though she was in no mood for such things. She wanted to get lost in a recipe to keep her mind off of what had happened with Stephen. Henry hadn't said much else on their way over here. When she had spoken to Katherine she had given her the mini-version of it. She would fill her in entirely later and she was prepared to ask Katherine for more than friend advice. Katherine was also an attorney and Regina decided to ask what could be legally done to perhaps break Stephen's adoption of Henry and give her sole custody. She didn't need Stephen's money or the child support. She only wanted Henry to be happy and if he truly didn't want to see Stephen ever again she would find some way to make that happen.

A commotion from the front made her turn in that direction in time to see a man burst through the kitchen doors. He ran into one of the servers, knocking her down and came barreling down one of the aisles – the same one where Henry sat on a stack of boxes. Her instincts took over and she ran down the aisle she was in and made it around the corner as he reached the end colliding with him. They went down in a tumble, her head hitting the floor. She was dazed a moment but felt hands on her as she was pulled up.

As her vision cleared she saw a woman in a tight pink dress in front of her, but the man she had hit had a hold of her and grabbed a knife from the nearby counter and now had it at her throat.

"Mom!" she heard Henry say from somewhere behind her. The man backed her up and was saying something to the woman in front of her. All she could think about was Henry and making sure Henry was ok.

Emma wasn't sure what to do when she ran into the kitchen only to see Brian pull some woman up and hold her hostage. She could see a kid just behind them and when he yelled "Mom" she knew the brunette hostage was the child's mother.

"Hey, let's calm down here," Emma said keeping her hands up.

"I am not going to prison," Brian said, holding onto the woman a little tighter.

"Ok, ok," Emma said. "We can handle this, just let the woman go."

"Right, and I am sure you will just let me walk out of here."

"I will. Nothing is more important to me than her life right now."

He seemed to consider it and backed up some more pulling the woman with him. They were getting closer to the kid and Emma looked in the woman's eyes and knew her concern was for the child, not herself.

"Hey kid," Emma said. "Why don't you take a wide walk behind that guy and come around over here."

Brian glanced back noticing Henry for the first time and Regina gave a concerned look to Emma, who tried to communicate with her eyes that she needed to stay calm.

"He's just a kid," Emma said to Brian. "Just let him get out of the way."

"Move kid," Brian ordered and Henry scrambled away from him. He went around to another aisle and one of the employees grabbed hold of him protectively. Emma could see relief spread across the features of the other woman.

"Alright, now let her go and you can leave. I won't follow."

He backed up again still holding on.

Once Henry was safe Regina's mind began to focus more on the situation. She was grateful for this woman for thinking to get Henry out of the way first. She got the feeling that whoever this guy was he wasn't going to make this easy.

But she was the daughter of a U.S. Ambassador and as such she had taken self-defense courses growing up. True she hadn't had the occasion to use the techniques and it had been years ago but she didn't give up without a fight.

She slammed her foot down on the guy's instep, which caused him to remove the knife from her neck long enough for her to grab his wrist. He was stronger than her and he easily pushed her aside and she went to the floor once again. She barely noticed a pair of legs leaping over her.

Emma was surprised when the woman went on the offensive but as soon as she did Emma was moving forward. She saw the woman fall in front of her and she jumped over intent on stopping Brian. He made it out the back door and began ran to across lanes of traffic. She followed him, catching up to him even as she heard the sirens approaching their location. She reached out and grabbed the back of his suit jacket and he whirled around as she did so. It was only then that she realized he still had the knife. She couldn't move in time and it sliced into her left side. She did have the wherewithal to jam her palm upwards into his nose. She heard the crunch and his swearing as she backed up a step holding her side.

"Down on the ground now," she heard someone say authoritatively. Brian dropped the knife and put his hands up. She turned to see the cops.

"Miss, are you ok?" one of the cops said seeing the blood that was quickly staining her dress.

"Yeah," she said a moment before almost falling to the ground. She heard them call for an ambulance as one of the cops brought her safely to the ground. She was still conscious when the ambulance arrived and she was loaded in. The last thing she saw before the doors closed was that brunette lady and her son.

Emma opened her eyes to the glare of the lights of a hospital room. She looked down at the IV in her arm and then she remembered why she was lying there. Well, that could have gone better she thought. She felt bad about how it all went down. She knew the risks she was taking with her job, but that was the first time she had been in a situation where others were at risk. She had read the dossier on Brian thoroughly. The guy was a sleaze and a white collar criminal so she hadn't been expecting something like that.

She should have planned it out better.

Lying there she wondered how long she would be unable to work with this knife wound. The area around it felt a little tender but otherwise ok.

A nurse came in about 15 minutes later and checked her vitals and told her a doctor would be by to explain everything to her. She asked if there was anyone they should call and Emma shook her head. She didn't have anyone in her life to bother calling.

The doctor came by nearly 40 minutes later. It wasn't as bad as it could have been and he was going to release her the next day so that at least was welcome.

She was lying in bed hours later flipping through channels on the TV when there was a knock on the doorframe and the woman from the restaurant came in with her son.

"Hi," Regina said.

"Hi," Emma smiled.

"Henry and I, this is my son Henry and I am Regina, Regina Mills, we um wanted to come check on how you were doing."

Emma turned the TV off. "Come in. I am Emma Swan."

"We heard you got stabbed," Henry said excitedly. "Did it hurt?"

"Henry," Regina said in a warning tone.

"It's ok," Emma said. "I did get stabbed and yes it hurt, but the doctors got me all stitched up and I will be out of here tomorrow."

"Cool," Henry said.

"I wanted to say thank you for what you did," Regina said.

"I should probably be apologizing to you actually. I shouldn't have let him get the upper hand like that. I'm sorry."

"Please, you don't have to apologize. You kept my son from getting hurt and that it all that matters to me."

Emma smiled as she took in this vision in front of her. Unlike in the kitchen where she was being held hostage, this woman seemed to exude a sense of authority and grace. And she was damn good looking especially in the skirt she was wearing that showed off her defined calf muscles.

"I am just glad you are both ok," Emma said. "You are ok?"

"Yes we both are," Regina said. "Just concerned about you."

"We brought you food," Henry said holding out the bag he was carrying.

"I understand you didn't actually eat the restaurant and I shudder to think about what passes as food at a hospital, even a highly regarded hospital such as this," Regina said. "I whipped you up some food."

"You are a chef?"

"I am," Regina said, seeing no reason to point out that she also owned the restaurant. She took the bag from Henry and took out the containers and placed them on the little stand. "I am sure one of the nurses can heat it up for you if you don't want to eat right now."

"Oh no, I am hungry and was dreading whatever was on tap for lunch here. But I don't want to eat in front of you while were talking."

"That's ok, we should probably get going," Regina said. "When you are feeling up to it though, I would like it if you would come to the restaurant for a meal. You can bring whoever you want. I will let the booking staff know to accommodate you whenever you want."

"It will probably be a party of one then," Emma said.

"I will be your date," Henry said.

Emma smiled at him and then looked at Regina who also had a smile on her face.

"It's a date then kid. You and me together."

"Always," Henry said instinctively.

Emma thought Regina gave him an odd look but there was still a smile on her face so Emma said. "Always kid. Always."


	2. Chapter 2

Three weeks later

Emma held her phone in her hands as she sat on the edge of her couch. She had been having this nearly nightly debate for a week now on whether to make the call.

She felt silly because while Regina had told her to call anytime if she wanted to come into the restaurant and eat. She also didn't know if that was just Regina's way of being nice.

The same day Regina had visited her in the hospital Emma had used her phone to google Regina Mills only to find out that she was no mere chef. The woman owned that restaurant and was apparently highly regarded in food circles. There was a feature story on her in the New York Times two years ago that gave her a lot of the information on Regina.

Emma also found out that Regina had been married.

It shouldn't matter, she thought. It shouldn't matter that Regina had been married.

But Emma also knew that was a big reason she hadn't called. It was stupid, she knew. She had met the woman under an extreme situation so it was natural that she would feel some sort of weird connection to her. When Regina had come to see her in the hospital she had gotten an even better look at the brunette and beautiful didn't seem the right word for it.

For a moment in that hospital room she felt – she didn't know what she felt but it had felt good.

Then she had to start looking into who this woman was and Emma knew "out of her league" didn't even begin to describe it.

Yet Regina hadn't seemed stuck up or anything like that. She seemed like someone who would be comfortable getting a cup of coffee with a person and chatting easily about any number of topics.  
And her son, well Henry was cute.

Emma finally decided to dial the restaurant number, figuring she would get the hostess who wouldn't know what she was talking about because Regina probably forgot to tell anyone and that would be the end of it.

A woman answered the phone and Emma hesitated before giving her name and telling her she was calling about a reservation. She was almost immediately put on hold. Yep, Emma thought, definitely has no idea what I am talking about.

"Emma?"

She almost dropped the phone when she heard Regina's voice on the line.

"Um, yeah, it's me," Emma said feeling like an awkward idiot.

"I am glad you finally called," Regina said. "I had left instructions with all the hosts and hostesses to let me know if you did."

"Sorry, it's taken so long. I've been busy."

"It's ok. Henry only asks me like every day when you two are going to have your date."

Emma laughed, "that is why I am calling."

"Are you free this weekend, or are you out catching bad guys?"

"I think I can put the bad guys on hold for a night."

"Good. How about Saturday night at 5 p.m.? I don't want Henry up too late."

"That sounds perfect. I can meet him there."

"He'll be delighted. Be prepared for him to ask about 100 questions."

"I think I can handle it, so I guess I will see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Emma put the phone down, feeling better that Regina had not only remembered but she apparently had made it a priority. Now she needed to figure out what to wear on a date with a kid.

Regina gave instructions for a table for Emma and Henry as soon as she got off the phone. While the restaurant mostly catered to those with reservations, like other establishments, hers always kept extra tables open for special guests or the occasional celebrity.

She was happy Emma had called. She hadn't been lying when she said Henry had asked about her and when they were going to go on their date. Plus she was also looking forward to seeing Emma again.

That night everything had gone so quickly. All she really knew about Emma at the time was that she was very brave and very beautiful. When she and Henry had gone to visit her in the hospital Regina had felt like there was a connection between them, especially when Emma had been so gracious toward Henry.

She figured it was only a reaction to how things had been with Stephen and his rejection of Henry that made what Emma said that more impactful to her.

Stephen. There was a mess that wasn't going to go away too quickly. She had a good idea that Stephen knew about what had happened to her at the restaurant and she was hurt that he hadn't bothered to ask how she was doing or how Henry was doing. She was again left wondering what had gone so wrong between them.

Henry hadn't gone to see Stephen since and Stephen hadn't said a word about it. She had spoken to Katherine about her legal options and felt even more depressed that not only could she go forward with rescinding Stephen's rights as the adopted father, if Stephen didn't protest it was a fairly simple matter. Regina would have Henry and Stephen wouldn't have to pay support of any kind. It would truly sever their last connection to each other.

Regina had mixed feelings about it and she didn't want to jump into it until she gave Henry some real time to think about what it would mean. In the end, it was his choice not hers – at least that is way she viewed it.

Henry would be so excited when she got home and told him that Emma had finally called. She hoped Emma didn't find it to awkward to sit there with Henry. She figured if things looked like they were going bad, she could always join them for a bit.

Emma entered the restaurant more nervous this time around than she had when she actually meeting a criminal there. She gave her name at the front and was escorted back to a table where Henry was already sitting. He beamed a huge smile at her which she returned.

"Hey kid," she said as she sat down opposite of him.

"Hi," he said.

"Your mom around?" Emma asked, taking a quick glance around the room.

"She's in the kitchen," he said. "I am sure she will be out as soon as someone tells her that you are here."

"How is she? And you, how are both of you since that incident?"

"We're good," he said. "What about you, did your stab wound heal?"

"It did."

"Does that happen a lot, getting hurt I mean?"

"No. I've gotten a few scrapes but nothing too serious. I shouldn't even have met that guy here. I didn't intend to put you or your mom in danger."

"It was exciting, but mom says I shouldn't say that because people could have gotten hurt for real."

"Thankfully no one did."

Emma looked up to see Regina approaching the table. The brunette was smiling at her, and Emma smiled back.

"I am glad you made it," Regina said standing next to the table.

"I wouldn't miss it."

"Order whatever you like. It's completely on the house. Appetizer, main course, dessert, even a to-go order if you want."

"I might take you up on that dessert, but for now I will probably just order a main course."

"Are you going to be our chef tonight?" Henry asked his mom.

"Yes."

"You don't have to do that for me," Emma said quickly. "I am sure you are busy enough running this place."

"It runs well whether I am here or not, besides I love to cook. If I didn't I wouldn't be here. So let your server know what you want."

Regina disappeared toward the front and their server gave them two menus. Emma had to study hers for quite a while before deciding. Henry only looked at his for a few moments. When the server came back to get their orders Henry told him to "just tell my mom I'd like my usual."

"What's your usual?" Emma asked him.

"You'll see."

Once their orders were placed Emma was subjected to question after question from Henry.

"You should become a cop," Emma said after a while. "You would do well in interrogations."

"Have you ever seen an interrogation?" he asked excitedly causing her to laugh.

When their food arrived Emma gave a quizzical look at Henry's plate.

"A grilled cheese and fries?" she asked.

Henry shrugged, "Growing up mom would cook a lot of different kinds of food. She used to try out dishes at home before trying them at a restaurant. I just thought that is what it was like for people – their moms cooking a bunch of stuff. Then when I went to school I discovered grilled cheese. I remember I came home and was telling her all about the gooey cheese and she wasn't impressed. But she spent like two days perfecting a grilled cheese sandwich for me. I really like it but she won't let me have them very often so when I am here, she let's me have grilled cheese."

"Your mom obviously loves you very much."

She looked down at her plate and then took her first bite. "God, that's good," she said conscious that she hadn't actually stopped chewing when she said it.

"My mom is really good."

"Really good doesn't come close kid."

"She will be really glad you like it."

"Who wouldn't?"

"My dad probably," he said. "He didn't like it that mom is a chef."

Emma knew better than to ask but she couldn't help herself. "Why is that?"

"I don't know. He always complained that since she owned this place she shouldn't be working in the kitchen and was always lecturing her about maintaining an image."

"She said she loves to cook so being a chef is probably the best thing for her."

"Yeah," Henry said taking a bite of his sandwich.

They tried eating without talking while food was in their mouth and at one point Emma looked up and saw Regina standing off to the side watching them. Emma smiled at her and got one of those smiles in return.

As their plates were being cleared Regina approached them again. "How was the food?"

"Excellent," Emma said. "My compliments to the chef."

Regina smiled once more and Emma thought she caught a slight blush highlighting her cheeks.

"Will you be getting any dessert this evening?"

"No, I am full."

"In that case, I at least insist on sending dessert home with you."

"That's really not necessary."

"Miss Swan, this is my place, you don't really get to argue,"

When she got yet another smile from Regina, Emma knew there was no way she was going to argue against anything this woman said.

"I will put an order in for you, my choice," Regina said as she began to step away.

"You could come back and join us for a bit if you have time," Emma said.

"Ok,"

Regina returned a few minutes later and took a seat next to Henry. They talked even after Emma's dessert was brought out to go. Emma found Regina very easy to talk to and it wasn't until she realized they had been talking for an hour that Emma regretfully said something about leaving.

"I probably should be getting Henry home," Regina said.

"Thanks for dinner, and Henry, you were the perfect date."

"I had a lot of fun," Henry said.

The two women were standing now and Emma felt awkward. "Well I am glad again that you weren't hurt and I really appreciate the invite to dinner."

"You are most welcome," Regina said.

They exchanged good byes and Emma left the restaurant, grabbing a cab to get home. She entered her apartment and felt alone. It hit her hard as she thought about how nice it was to sit with Henry and then Regina. Now she was alone and her small connection to their world was over.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina thought about calling Emma to see how she liked the dessert, but she felt silly about it so she didn't. She figured Emma would find it odd. It was one thing for this complete stranger to accept a dinner invitation made out of gratitude but quite another thing for Regina to call her up randomly.

She had enjoyed getting to sit there and speak with Emma at dinner. It had been a while since she had been able to have such a care-free time. The blonde had an ability to put people at ease and Regina wondered if that helped her in her line of work. There was a lot of things Regina wondered about her, but she knew she wouldn't get the chance to ever actually get the answers to them.

Dinner had been three days ago and clearly since she hadn't heard from Emma then Emma probably considered their brief interaction over. Regina wasn't even sure why she should expect otherwise.

She was sitting in her office at the restaurant going over inventory items. She was double checking the figures when there was a knock on the door.  
"Come in,"

One of the wait staff came in carrying a small vase of flowers and placed it on her desk.

"What's this?" she asked.

"They were just delivered for you," he said.

She stood up and examined them. It wasn't a big arrangement; in fact it was quite modest, but she enjoyed the simplicity of it. She plucked the card from it, opened it and smiled as she read the note.

"Thank you for dinner and dessert. Emma."

"So who is your latest admirer?" the waiter said.

It wouldn't be the first time she had been the recipient of flowers at the restaurant. Occasionally some one who enjoyed their meal would show appreciation for it. But this felt different than those.

"That will be all," she said dismissing him.

"Fine, keep your secrets," he said before walking out.

Once he was gone, she bent over the arrangement and took a deep breath from the assorted flowers.

She sat back down and dialed Emma's number.

"Hello."

"Hi Emma, it's Regina."

"Oh, hey, I mean hi. I mean I said that already. How are you?"

Regina smiled as she could almost picture Emma's expressions as she stumbled over her phrasing.

"I am doing quite well actually. I am sitting here in my office with a lovely bouquet of flowers from you and I wanted to call and thank you."

"I am glad you like them. I didn't know what kind of flowers you might like so I told them to make it different kinds."

"They are perfect. You didn't have to send me flowers, but I admit I am glad you did."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. It gave me an excuse to call you. You should know that I suspect that Henry told all his classmates about his date so there may be a rumor going around town that you are dating a child."

Emma laughed, "I suppose that would sound creepy if I hadn't actually gone on a date with him."

"If the authorities come knocking on my door to ask questions about it, I will be sure to let them know I was present and nothing bad happened."

"I appreciate that."

There was a moment of silence between them as both women tried to figure out something to say to extend the conversation.

"Well I should probably let you get back to whatever you were doing. I just wanted to let you know that I got your flowers and they made me smile. So thank you once again."

"You're welcome."

"Good bye Emma."

"Good bye."

She hung up the phone and sat there staring the flowers. She wished she had more to say to Emma but she didn't really know what to say. They didn't actually know each other. Without the flowers it just would have been weird if she had called Emma up.

She had been thinking since that dinner with Emma that part of the reason she had enjoyed it was because of being able to talk to another adult casually. Yes she had her friend Katherine, but both of their lives were so busy and they knew each other so well that there was nothing new. That is what she liked about Emma, she was new, and obviously lived a life to different than Regina's that she found it easy to fall into stretches of silence where she could just listen to the other woman tell a story.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she saw it was Emma calling her back. She paused only a moment before answering it.

"So I was wondering since you had me out for dinner, if you might want to catch a bite with me sometime," Emma said.

Regina smiled, "I would like that."

Emma was less nervous this time around having dinner with Regina, although she wondered if perhaps she should be more nervous seeing as Henry wasn't there. She hadn't told Regina where they were going, only that she should dress casual because it wasn't anywhere fancy.

She went to Regina's apartment which was in a fancy building, complete with a doorman. She had to wait at the security desk before she was allowed up. This was definitely not the kind of place people like her normally went. She could practically feel the judgment from the doorman when he opened the door for her.

When she knocked on the door, she smiled as Henry answered it.

"Hi Emma."

"Hey kid," she said. "How are things?"

"Good. My mom's almost ready if you want to come in."

She stepped inside. Everything seemed modern and new, but there were small touches that seemed to show that this was a home. A jacket that she assumed belonged to Henry was draped on the back of the couch. There was a coffee mug without a coaster under it on a table. Emma took in these small details as Henry went back to sitting on the couch and grabbed a controller. She ended up taking a seat beside him.

"You want to play?"

"Maybe another time. If I start playing the game with you now, your mom and I will never get to eat. I am a bit of a video game junkie."

"You are? What do you like to play?"

"I like racing games the best mostly because I don't get a lot of time to play so I tend not to do epic kinds of games that take too much time since I don't have the time to ever finish them."

"I got some racing games, maybe we could play later."

"Maybe kid."

"You must be Emma."

Emma stood quickly as she heard a woman's voice and turned to see a beautiful woman approaching her. They shook hands.  
"Hi, I am Katherine. I am Regina's best friend and Henry's baby sitter for the night."

"I don't need a baby sitter," Henry said.

"It's good to meet you," Emma said wondering just how friendly Katherine and Regina were. She forced herself not to think about it. And a second later she didn't need to think about it as Regina came out wearing a pair of khakis and a blue sweater.

"Hi," Regina said.

"Hi," Emma said.

There was another moment of silence as they stood there just looking at each other.

"Well you two should probably get going," Katherine said, which jolted both women to attention.

"Night Henry," Emma said.

"Night,"

Regina also said her goodbye as Emma held the door open for her. Once they were in the car, Regina asked her where they were going.

"To the place with the best apple pie in the city," Emma responded.

"Sounds delicious."

"Oh, you have no idea."

They arrived at the small restaurant that looked like any number of small eateries scattered across the city. Emma held the door open for Regina once more and hoped she didn't think badly of her for taking her to a place that was absolutely nothing like Regina's restaurant. This place was simply called Mama's Kitchen and it cooked homestyle meals. Emma had stumbled across it because of a job and had been a regular ever since.

They got seated and while Emma didn't need to look at the menu to know what to order, she pretended to study it as Regina studied hers. She was surprised when Regina ordered the turkey breast with cornbread stuffing and greens. Emma got her usual – hamsteak with a baked potato.

As they waited for their food, they talked with the same kind of ease they had the last time. When their food arrived she got a little more nervous that Regina wouldn't like it but she did and even ended up talking to the cook about how he made the stuffing. Just watching Regina engage in the conversation with the cook Emma got a real sense of how much Regina loved cooking – all types of cooking it seemed. It was definitely something that Regina was passionate about.

Regina begged off dessert saying she was too full, but Emma ordered her a piece of apple pie anyway to go.

"It seems only fair," Emma said. "You did after all send me home with dessert last time, which by the way was amazing as breakfast the next morning."

Regina laughed at the comment saying she had never thought of it as a breakfast food but as long as it was enjoyed that was all that mattered.

Throughout dinner Emma was trying to gauge Regina's interest in her. She got the vibe that Regina was enjoying herself, but she wasn't sure if Regina was enjoying herself as she would if this was a date.

When Emma drove her home Regina paused before getting out of the car.

"Thank you for taking me to dinner."

"You're welcome. Oh and I meant to tell you before but you know if you want to call me ever to talk you don't need flowers as an excuse. Although I guess I could send more if it is a prerequisite."

"It is not a prerequisite," Regina smiled. "And I will call. I really hope we can become friends."

"Me too," Emma said.

Regina got out of the car and Emma waited for her to get inside the building before pulling away. Friends, she thought, I can do a friendship.


	4. Chapter 4

Regina entered her home to find Katherine sitting on the couch reading from her kindle. She immediately put it down and looked up Regina.

"How was dinner?"

"It was very nice."

Katherine noted the smile on her friend's face.

"Is Henry in bed?"

"He is, although I doubt he is sleeping. You can check on him later; first come sit and tell me all about it."

Regina put her dessert away in the kitchen before taking a seat. She proceeded to tell Katherine about where she and Emma had gone to eat.

"I am telling you the stuffing was amazing. If I wanted to run a restaurant with that kind of food it would definitely be on the menu. As it is, I have already thought of a few different ways to make it, or enhance and I might need to try that when Thanksgiving comes around," Regina said.

"You know it's like unbelievable that you are as thin as you are. You are not afraid to eat anything. That figure of yours is definitely some sort deal you have made with the devil."

They shared a laugh over it and Katherine was happy to see Regina be so relaxed. The divorce had taken a toll on her friend and even after it was all over it seemed like Regina had become more serious, less likely to laugh.

"Now tell me more about Emma."

"What do you want to know? I've already told you about her. Tonight I probably talked more than she did. She was asking me about what it was like to grow with a dad being a U.S. Ambassador. She was asking me about the different countries I have been to and how I got into cooking. I told her about Nanny Wilson who helped me make my first cake from scratch and how that pretty much sealed my fate as a cook."

"Wow, I think you and I knew each other a year before I ever heard about Nanny Wilson."

"Are you jealous?"

"No," Katherine smiled. "I am actually very happy that you opened up to Emma."

"I told her I thought she and I were going to become good friends."

"And was she ok with that?"

"Yes, why would she be?" Regina asked; the confusion evident on her face.

Katherine took a breath and exhaled. "Do you realize that Emma is gay?"

"Yes, I realize that she is interested in women. She and I haven't talked about it or anything. I don't see where it is an issue."

"Of course it isn't until she decides she wants you as more than a friend."

"I think you are getting way ahead of yourself," Regina said standing up. "She even said that she wants to be friends."

"Ok, ok, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that she was gay in case you didn't know."

"She took a substantial look at my chest when I saw her in the hospital. I know. And why would you think that would make me uncomfortable?"

"Regina, sit."

She took her seat facing Katherine.

"If you and Emma become friends, I think that is great. If you become more than friends, that would also be great. I didn't bring this up to upset you. You hadn't mentioned before when you speaking about Emma that she was gay so when I first met her tonight and then you came out, well I saw the way she looked at you. I knew you were looking at tonight as going out with someone you had just met but wanted to get to know. What I wasn't sure was if Emma thought this was a date."

"Lesbians can have straight friends thank you very much."

"Yes they can, but you aren't straight, you're bi."

Regina looked away from her and got silent before turning back to Katherine. "All I am interested in is friendship with her, and as long as she is ok with that then I think she and I could become good friends. Anything else is out of the question."

"Ok," Katherine said.

Emma brought her prisoner into the booking area at one of the downtown precincts. It had taken her only three days to track this one down, although it did require visiting every bar in a 10-block radius to do it. This guy was one of the ones that made her shake her head – he jumped bail on a charge of unlawful restraint after he held essentially held his girlfriend captive for 10 hours. Then the girlfriend pays the bail for him to get out and Emma finds him in a bar kissing another woman who was not his girlfriend.

She had seen it too many times – wives, girlfriends, moms bailing out some poor loved one who then turns around and screws them over by jumping bail.

Her job certainly gave her reasons to think some women were just naïve when it came to love.

After she got him transferred to the custody of the PD, she left the building and looked at her phone. No calls or texts from Regina.

It had been four days since they had gone out and while Emma had texted her the next morning to ask how the dessert was, she had gotten a one-word answer of delicious but nothing else. At first she figured that Regina was merely busy – after all she was a busy woman, but then when Emma had texted her yesterday some random message and she had heard back from her, Emma began to wonder if she had done something wrong.

Stop thinking about it, she told herself. It would do no good to start examining the why nots of why Regina hadn't texted her back.

She knew Regina had said she wanted to be friends, but maybe she was just humoring Emma. Maybe she should have taken Regina to someplace that was more fancy to eat at. She had really thought Regina had enjoyed the food and evening.

Stop thinking about it, she told herself again.

It was probably too good to be true from the beginning, Emma thought. She had nothing in common with someone like Regina so the idea that they could even be friends was far fetched.

Regina sat at the conference table at Katherine's office. They were going over legal documents as it pertained to her custody of Henry and Stephen's visitation rights. Henry was adamant that he didn't want to be forced to spend time with his father and that he didn't consider him his father anymore than Stephen apparently considered Henry his child.

"I think we can do this and probably with minimum fuss, but it's going to cost you," Katherine said. "You will lose the child support."

"You know I am not concerned about that money. I don't need it."

"I know, but Stephen also knows you don't need it which is why it was a joy to get the courts to order him to pay it when you got divorced."

Katherine had helped her with the divorce and Regina knew her friend could get on a euphoric high just from thinking about how she had made Stephen part with his money.

"Do you think he will fight you on this?"

"I don't know. I was kind of hoping he would."

"How so?"

"I thought if I did this that maybe he would see that he loved Henry and that he couldn't stand to not be around him. I was hoping it might make him see Henry as his son."

"Not to be blunt, but he never did when you were married, I doubt that this will change things."

"Wow Katherine don't hold back or anything."

"Please, it's nothing you haven't heard me say before. And if memory serves me right when you decided to divorce Stephen you also thought maybe it would make him see he couldn't live without you."

"Don't remind me," Regina said. "My life is considerably better with him not in it, but Henry; he's just a kid. He shouldn't have to feel like he is being rejected by his father. What if years down the road he regrets this?"

"He might and he might not. You can only do what you think is best for him in the here and now."

"The problem is I don't know if this is the right thing."

"We don't have to file these with the court right now. We can hold off as long as you want."

"I'm not ready yet."

"That is fine, they will be here in my office when you want them or I can shred them at a moment's notice if you want them destroyed."

"What would you do, if you were me?"

"I don't think you really want me to answer that."

"Probably not."

Katherine could see a little bit of depression sinking into Regina's face and her slumped shoulders. "Hey, why don't you and Henry come over for dinner tonight?"

"Thanks," Regina said. "I can't. I have to work the restaurant tonight. My father is taking some guests out tonight and you know how he loves to show off the place to them."

"I didn't realize your dad was in town. What country are his guests from this time?"

"No idea, but as you know I have to do my best impression of a diplomat's daughter."

"Which you excel at."

"Only from years of practice. I really hope he doesn't tell them the story of how I got sick and threw up at that knighthood ceremony."

"Ah, I love that story."

"I hate that story."

Later that evening

"And there is my little Gina with puke on her shoes and her brand new dress and the queen just looks at me and looks at her and says to Gina, 'Keep your head up young lady, even a queen has a rough day.'"

Regina stood by her father's chair with her fake smile plastered on her face as the translator relayed the rest of the story to the other men around the table, all of whom got a chuckle out of it.

"That's my Gina, always holding her head up high and now look at her, she owns her own restaurant, one of the finest in the city I dare say."

"Thank you father," she said still smiling. "Can I get anyone anything else?"

Thankfully they didn't ask for anything and she was able to escape back to the kitchen.

"Did he tell the puking story?" Grant, her head chef asked.

"Of course."

"That story never gets old."

"I was like six when it happened, trust me, it gets old."

"Aw poor Gina," he said as he continued to cut the vegetables he was working on.

She threw a dish towel at him. "Only my father gets to call me Gina."

"Look on the bright side, they didn't order dessert so they should be leaving soon."

"God I hope so. All I want to do is go home and sleep."

"Rough day? One of the hostesses said you were gone for a couple of hours this afternoon. I thought maybe you were with your dad."

"No, he is only in town for a few days. He took Henry out to a movie last night and we were able to talk a little bit when they got back, but this is not one of his trips where family takes precedent."

"I figure it must be like having a dad who is a big rig trucker. You know on the road a lot and stopping back in for short visits."

"I guess. It wasn't like that growing up too much. I think my parents wanted to provide as much stability for me as they could. But once I was an adult they traveled more. Sometimes my mother travels more than my father for her job."

"There were times growing up I wish my parents would have traveled far away."

She gave him a smile. She had hired Grant from a pool of applicants that had resumes a lot sturdier than his. There was just something about him – a kinship about food that made him stand out. She had never regretted the hire.

"So what's the deal with the hot blonde savior that was all badass in here saving your life?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard she sent you flowers to thank you for the meal and that you two went out like last week."

"Is nothing a secret around here?"

"You have worked in enough kitchens to know the answer to that is no."

She laughed. "There is nothing much to tell about her. Actually she texted me the other day but I hadn't responded to her."

"That's rude," he said. "Why didn't you?"

"I have been busy."

"Come on, it's a text message. It takes like 30 seconds tops."

"Why do you care if I text her back or not?"

"Because she is a total badass."

"I will be sure to tell her you think so."

"Ok then, go."

"What?"

"Go text her. Jeez do I have to do everything around here,"

"You are lucky I like you."

"Go," he repeated.

She left the kitchen and took a circuit around the dining area to make sure all was well. Her father was deep in conversation – hopefully not telling more stories about her – so she ducked into her office. She picked up her phone to text Emma back and decided to her call her instead.

It was four rings before she answered.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Regina asked. Emma had said she worked a lot of nights because of her job and she hadn't thought about that before calling.

"I am on a mini stakeout, but no you are not interrupting as I am sitting here bored out of my mind."

"Do your parents ever tell embarrassing stories about you to complete strangers?"

"Um no, but then again I grew up in foster care so I didn't actually have parents."

"Oh, I am sorry I didn't know."

"You don't have to apologize. I am perfectly ok with being a kid from the system. As for any of my foster parents, I don't know if they tell anyone anything about me, but if they did yes they would probably have some embarrassing stories to choose from. One comes to mind that involves me running away to join the circus."

"Really?"

"Yes, maybe I will tell you about it some day, but it's going to cost you."

"And what would be the price for such a tale. Dinner, dessert?"

"No, but I would like to hear what embarrassing story you want your parents to quit telling strangers as I assume you would want them to stop."

"First off I was six …" She went on to tell Emma the story and then had to sit through about a minute of Emma laughing at her. "Are you done?"

"For now," Emma said. "Wow, you puked in front of a queen. Just think if Twitter was around during that time, you would have totally gone viral with that."

"At that point I wouldn't have to worry about my parents telling the story because everyone would know already."

"I am sure your parents aren't telling the story out of malice."

'They aren't. It's always my father that tells it. He thinks it is cute."

"I could see that. I am sure you were a very cute six-year-old."

"I don't know about that. My mother always said I skipped the terrible twos and just became downright pouty when I was five or six."

"What were you pouting about at that age?"

"Not being able to rule the world."

"So you were always ambitious."

Regina could practically see the smile that was probably on Emma's face when she said it.

"Yes, I suppose I was," Regina replied. "Well I should probably let you get back to your stakeout while I get back to work. Sorry I didn't return your text message earlier; I've just been busy."

"That's ok, I am glad you called."

"Me too."


	5. Chapter 5

Emma was on night four of her stakeout for a suspect. It was getting beyond tedious, but this was a big game for her, which is why she was being patient. A car pulled into a spot a couple of vehicles behind her. It didn't match any of the vehicles that she was on the look out for, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

She watched it from her side mirror and then quickly got out of the car.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Regina who was approaching her.

"I brought you some dinner," she replied holding up a bag.

Emma couldn't help but smile. "Come on, let's sit in my car."

Emma put a protective hand on Regina's back and led her over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her. She rushed around to the other side and got in, glancing around quickly before getting in.

She had told Regina where she was conducting her stakeout, but was still surprised by her showing up.

"Is this bad, me just showing up like this?" Regina asked. Emma was struck by how unsure Regina looked.

"It's fine," Emma said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Now what did you bring me to eat?

Regina handed over the bag and Emma wasted no time tearing into it. There was a to-go box which she opened to find a rather large sandwich."

"I didn't want to bring you something you would have to warm up since I didn't know if you would be able to eat or would want to eat immediately," Regina explained.

"Now is good," Emma said taking a bite of the sandwich.

Regina waited patiently for Emma to take several more bites before speaking. "Is this what a stakeout is like?"

"Yes, pretty boring. It's a bunch of waiting around until someone shows up that I am looking for," Emma said. "It's kind of late, is someone watching Henry?"

Regina looked away out the window. "He's with his father."

"Oh."

Regina hadn't told her much about Henry's father, and Emma got the feeling more from what had not been said that it was a sore subject.

"I've been considering …The night you and I met, Henry was at the restaurant when he was supposed to be with his father. Stephen, he um, dropped Henry off at my place that night because he had to go out of town on business. That became a theme during the latter part of our marriage. It was code for he was going to go have sex with someone."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Regina said looking at her again. "When I first found out he was cheating on me, I let him tell me it wasn't going to ever happen again. When I found out the second time, I just ignored it. Was I hurt by it? Yes, but really I was ready for my marriage to end for me, but I wasn't ready for it to end for Henry so I kept at it longer than I probably should have. Anyway, that night Stephen said something hateful that Henry heard and this is really the first time the two of them have been together for an extended time since."

"What did he say that night?" Emma asked unable to help herself.

"He said Henry wasn't his child. I mean Henry isn't biologically our child, we adopted him, but that doesn't make him any less my child or makes me any less his mother."

"It doesn't matter if he is biologically your kid or not and Stephen was an ass for saying what he did."

"Yes, he was," Regina said. "And now Henry doesn't want to have anything to do with him. He doesn't want to see him anymore he said. As for what Stephen wants – a part of me doesn't care – but I don't want him to give up Henry either. I had papers drawn up to see about getting sole custody of Henry, to essentially null any claim Stephen would have on him, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything with them, not yet at least. What would you do?"

Emma was taken a back by the question.

"Sorry," Regina said when Emma paused. "I shouldn't have asked you that."

"I don't know what I would do. I think it's great that you adopted Henry. Growing up I always wished that a family would take me in on a permanent basis, but it never happened," Emma said. "I like to think I turned out ok, but I think every foster kid dreams of what life would be like if they had been chosen for adoption. Henry is lucky to have you."

"If my opinion matters I think you turned out ok."

Regina gave her another smile which Emma returned fully.

"I should let you get back to your dinner and back to your stakeout," Regina said.

"Thanks for the food."

"You're welcome."

After Regina left, Emma sat there in the car and finished her sandwich. She knew she should be happy that Regina stopped by, but she couldn't help but think about what Regina had said about Stephen. What a dick, she thought. It made her angry that someone could get a woman like Regina and then turn around and cheat on her. And saying that shit about Henry not being his child – she would like to kick his ass just for that.

She was so caught up in thinking about it, she almost missed that her suspect was nonchalantly walking down the sidewalk and was near her car. Focus, she told herself as she got out of the car.

…..

Regina returned to her rather empty-feeling home after delivering the food to Emma. Whenever Henry wasn't there, the place seemed empty. She didn't miss Stephen but she did miss having another presence around.

She thought about Emma and how she enjoyed the other woman's company. There didn't seem to be anything complicated about Emma. She very much carried herself like someone who didn't feel the need to hide who she was. It was almost like saying 'hello world, this is me and you can take or leave it.' She had an openness about her that Regina found appealing.

Regina on the other hand felt like she was constantly playing roles – the daughter of a diplomat; for a while it was the role of a loving wife, and even her role as restaurateur felt strained at times. She enjoyed being a cook more than a restaurant owner and there wasn't a time when she out on the floor of her establishment playing that role that she didn't wish she could disappear into the kitchen and just cook.

It seemed like the role of mother was the only one she didn't have to work at.

And with Emma, she felt like she didn't need to play any particular role because she felt like if she did Emma would see through it.

In the short time they had known each other Regina had felt like it was safe to be herself around Emma.

She had given thought to what Katherine had said about Emma and while she had seen Emma checking her out on more than one occasion, she didn't get the sense that Emma was going to do anything beyond that. She was grateful because she didn't want to hurt Emma by rejecting her that way.

It's not that she didn't find Emma extremely attractive as she certainly did, but she wasn't looking for anything in her life right now that was complicated and while Emma may not be complicated, a relationship with her would be.

Her parents loved her, she knew that, but she also knew they were extremely happy when she started to date Stephen and eventually married him. There had been a sense of relief in a way for her parents.

While her parents tended to be more moderate to liberal in their stances, especially her mother, she got the feeling that line of progressive thinking didn't extended to their own daughter – at least not when she had been dating Danielle. They had never said anything to her and had always been kind and polite to Danielle, but Regina could never shake the feeling that they would prefer if their daughter's sexual tastes didn't include women.


	6. Chapter 6

"Here you go kid, best hot dog in the city," Emma said handing over the food to Henry.

She had talked Regina into coming out to a park with Henry to try a hot dog after she had discovered that it was one food that Regina wasn't fond of and therefore Henry only ever had them when he went to a ball game.

"And there is yours," Emma said giving over Regina's to her. "Hey no disapproving faces."

"I am not disapproving," Regina defended herself. "I am studying it before I eat it."

"Ok, you can study it until we get over there to sit down and then you must eat," Emma said.

She looked at Henry who had already taken a bite of his coney and coleslaw covered dog. They walked over to one of the benches and sat down, Emma ending up between Regina and Henry. She bent down a little to get a bite of her dog which was smothered in red and green peppers, and cheese sauce.

"What do you think kid?" she asked after politely chewing her bite completely and swallowing.

"Good," he said in between bites.

She turned to Regina. "Well?"

"It's actually not bad," she said. Regina had gone with a garden dog covered in veggies. "The fries are better however."

Emma had insisted they try the fries as well. They were not frozen, but instead more like freshly cut potato wedges rolled in spices.

Regina gave Emma a smile when she said it and at this point it was almost instinctual for Emma to smile back whenever she got to see Regina look at her like that.

They had spoken on the phone and texted each other over the two months, but this was only the third time they had gotten to get together because they had both been busy. Even though they hadn't seen each other Emma was happy every time she saw it was Regina calling or texting her.

As they sat there Emma ended up talking with Henry more than Regina as they discussed video games and movies. Once they had finished eating Emma and Henry threw a baseball back and forth. Emma had played softball in a summer rec league for two years and baseball was the only sport that Henry enjoyed so they both brought their gloves.

Every once in a while Emma would glance over at Regina who sat on the bench watching the interaction. Regina had smiled at her again and it was distracting enough that Emma barely caught the ball before it hit her. The near miss made Regina laugh and Emma felt the close call was worth it just to hear that sound.

Emma noticed Regina had checked her phone several times while she sat there, but she didn't seem to be texting anyone. She figured Regina was probably checking her email or something as things would sometimes arise at the restaurant that she needed to stay informed about.

After awhile they called it quits at throwing the ball and went off to their next destination, which was a botanical garden that Emma had never been to before. It was Regina's idea as she had taken Henry there when he was a young kid but they had never made it back since. The three of them walked along the pathways – Emma and Henry marveling at various plants. Emma took opportunities to glance over at Regina when she knew the other woman wasn't looking. She saw a serene look on her face as she seemed to appreciate the beauty around them.

After the day was over, Emma said goodbye to them and even got a hug from Henry. Emma agreed with Henry that they needed to plan a trip to the zoo soon.

Once they parted Emma didn't feel like going home so she went to a bar that was within walking distance of her place. It was her spot to go when she didn't want to go home. She knew the owner, Ruby – helped her out once which had cemented their friendship. She checked to make sure Ruby was working before she went in. She took a seat at the bar and before she knew it Ruby was tapping her on the shoulder and indicating that Emma should follow her.

They went back to Ruby's office after Emma got a tall draft.

"How are you doing?" Ruby said.

"I am good," Emma said. "How is business?"

"Busy, which equates to good. It's been a while since you have been in here," Ruby noted.

"I too have been busy."

"Yeah, you and the funeral homes are the only ones who will never go out of business," Ruby joked.

"It's not my fault criminals are plentiful and they are also dumbasses," Emma said taking a drink.

"So really how are you?" Ruby said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how are you? The last time we spoke you couldn't stop talking about this woman Regina. Getting anywhere with that?"

"I told you, it's not like that."

"Right," Ruby said.

"Regina and I are only friends."

Ruby didn't miss the look on Emma's face. "Just friends? Her choice I take it?"

Emma didn't answer, just took another drink of her beer.

"She and I don't really have anything in common," Emma said after a while.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Emma said. "And her son, he's really great too."

"Alright, what's the next step?"

"There is no next step. There are some lines you can't cross and this is one of them."

"And there is no chance of anything there?"

Emma exhaled deeply. "She and I haven't really discussed our sexualities. She knows I am gay because I've said enough about my past relationships so she knew you know in case she didn't know I was. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable or anything. Anyway, I know she is into women. I've seen her appraise a few."

"Closet gay?"

"No, I don't think so. I think it's more likely that she is bi."

"Ok, so why aren't you seeing if there is any interest there?"

"Because over the last couple of weeks she has made hints that she isn't looking for anything. She has some issues with her ex-husband."

"How long has she been divorced?"

"Two years give or take a couple of months."

"Plenty of time for her to want to move on."

"You don't understand. She is purposely dropping hints that she isn't interested."

"You think she knows you are interested in her?"

Emma nodded yes.

"That sucks," Ruby said.

"Big time," Emma said taking another drink.

….

Regina returned home with Henry after they separated from Emma. It was a good day, she thought. They walked into their building and the building manager came out from behind the counter and approached her.

"Hello Sydney," she said.

"Hello. Hey Henry, I see you have your glove, playing ball today were you?"

"Just practicing," he said, throwing the ball up in the air and catching it.

"Do you mind if I borrow your mom for a moment?"

Regina gave Sydney a look and then turned to Henry. "Go ahead and go upstairs. I will be right there."

Henry went to the elevator and Sydney waited until the elevator doors closed before he turned to Regina. "Stephen showed up here earlier. He was told he wasn't allowed upstairs, per your instructions. He didn't like that answer."

"I hope he didn't cause any problems."

"No, no problems. I thought you should know however that he was quite insistent on going upstairs to see you. We of course did not tell him whether you were even in or not. If he should return, what would you like us to do?"

Regina considered it a moment. "If he shows up, call me. I will make a decision at that time."

"As you wish," he said.

"Thank you. Now I should get upstairs to Henry," she said. As soon as she was in the elevator she pulled out her phone. Stephen had called her eight times that day, never leaving a message. She hadn't called him back because she didn't know what he wanted and frankly she didn't want to ruin her day. She had a good time with Emma and Henry and the fact that Stephen interrupted it by calling her was the one bad thing about the day.

She couldn't fathom what he would be trying to contact her for.

When she got into her place Henry was there on the couch.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

She couldn't help but think of what a smart and observant kid her son was.

"Everything is fine," she said. "Your father showed up here earlier is all. Sydney was just letting me know."

"What did he want?"

"I don't know, he didn't leave a message. I would guess he was probably here to see you."

"Doubtful."

She took a seat next to him, putting her arm around him. "Today was fun, wasn't it?" she asked wanting to change the subject.

"I really like Emma," Henry said. "She's fun."

"I really like her too," she said.

…

The sound of her cellphone woke Regina. She grabbed it and saw it was after 2 a.m. and it was the front desk calling.

"Hello."

"Sorry for waking you," the clerk said. "You have a visitor down here. It's Stephen."

Regina came more fully awake and sat up. She didn't say anything prompting the clerk to ask if she was still there.

"Tell him to wait down there, I will be down," she said finally.

It took her a while to get up and look presentable enough to go downstairs. As soon as the elevator doors opened and she exited Stephen was coming toward her.

"Where have you been all day?" he asked.

She could tell immediately that he had been drinking. He didn't normally drink more than a couple of drinks, although he would on occasion drink to excess. He didn't appear to be drunk this time however.

"I've been out with Henry," she said.

"You didn't return my calls."

"You didn't leave any messages," she sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he said. "I've missed you and I stopped by earlier. I thought maybe we could have gone to dinner tonight or something."

He put a hand on her arm in a way that was way too familiar for the type of relationship they had now.

"Invite me up," he said.

"I don't think that is a good idea," she said.

"Come Regina, I won't try anything I swear. I just want to talk. Maybe in the morning you, me and Henry could go get breakfast. Remember our Sunday mornings?" he said.

She did remember. Sundays were their day. When they first started dating and early in their marriage they had made it a point to not deal with work or other distractions on Sundays. But slowly those distractions began to creep in.

"I know why you are being hesitant. I've messed up a lot," he said. "But you can't deny that we had a lot of good times too. Please Regina. It's been a rough couple of weeks and I wouldn't be here if I didn't really want to see you. And Henry. I'd like to see my son."

She had loved him once. And there had been good times. That she couldn't deny. But she also knew she didn't love him any longer. Still, if there was a chance that Stephen and Henry could repair their own relationship she had to give it a chance.

"Henry gets to choose where breakfast is at," she said.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma returned home after what she was going to term a less than satisfactory date. Karen had hit on while Emma was at Ruby's bar and with a couple of beers in her, she decided to flirt back. They had gone out several times now, and Emma was ready to call it quits already. There was nothing wrong with Karen, and normally she would be Emma's type – she was laid back, not clingy and she wasn't complicated.

But Emma didn't find their dates to be very stimulating either.

She didn't want to admit it but she knew the problem was that she kept comparing Karen to Regina and Karen wasn't stacking up. Emma knew it was not fair for her to compare the two women, but she couldn't help it.

Tonight was a good example. They had gone out to eat and Karen had spent time looking at the menu being completely undecided about what to eat. Regina would have studied the menu and chosen something easily and it was like she always had a story to tell around her choice whether it was something she had made personally, or some kitchen disaster or just something. Karen couldn't even decide what kind of dressing to have on a salad.

Emma just wasn't engaged in the dates, which is why she had turned down Karen's invitation to go back to her place. Emma didn't think the day would come when she wasn't even interested in having sex with another woman. It wasn't that Karen wasn't attractive – she was, but again she wasn't Regina.

Emma got a beer from her fridge and sat on her couch, turning the TV on although she really had no desire to watch anything.

She checked her phone even though she knew she didn't have any text messages.

Regina had been quiet lately. Even when Emma did call or text her, it seemed like Regina was preoccupied or maybe she was just distancing herself from Emma – after all she had Stephen back in her life now.

She knew that wasn't entirely accurate. Regina had explained to her how Stephen had showed up at her place that night after the three of them had spent the day together. She told Emma that if it wasn't for Stephen wanting to spend time with Henry she wouldn't have bothered. Yet if Stephen was so interested in spending time with Henry, why was it that the time spent always seemed to include Regina as of late.

Again, Emma knew she wasn't being fair. It was really none of her business if Regina wanted to spend time with her ex. Ever since Stephen had this epiphany that he apparently wanted to be father; Regina's free time had been extremely limited – limited to spending time with Stephen and Henry.

As long Regina and Henry were happy Emma supposed that was all that mattered.

It wasn't as if she had been dating Regina or even had a shot at her. She would have been better off never calling into that restaurant to accept Regina's offer. If she hadn't had made that call, maybe she wouldn't be sitting here now depressed. She shut off the TV and downed the beer before going to her bedroom – she might as well call it a day she figured.

…

Regina was sitting on her couch, her feet tucked up close to her body with her Kindle in hand – a Kindle that had reverted to its power saving mode due to inactivity. It was late, but she wasn't tired but she wasn't really interested in doing anything either.

Henry was in his room asleep, and Regina, well she was just bored.

These last few weeks it she barely had time to herself, yet here she was with time on her hands and she didn't have a clue as to what to do. She didn't want to watch TV, she didn't want to read and she didn't even want to be in the kitchen. That bothered her more than anything. At work lately when she wasn't on the floor, she was in her office. The only times she was in the kitchen was during pre-opening walkthroughs or meetings with the kitchen staff.

She hadn't spoken much with Katherine mostly because she didn't want to hear a lecture from her friend regarding Stephen.

That night Stephen had showed up here Regina had let him stay the night – in the guest room – and that morning the three of them had gone to breakfast. She could tell Henry was surprised to see his father there and even more surprised that the three of them were going out to breakfast. Regina tried to keep a smile on her face about the whole thing but she had to admit it was forced most of the time. Henry was extremely skeptical about Stephen's turnaround in attitude. Regina too was skeptical but she wanted so much for Henry to have a relationship with his father.

When they had returned home from breakfast Henry had gone into his room and Stephen had asked her for a cup of coffee and they ended up sitting down and talking. He asked her how she had been and how things were at the restaurant. They had talked for a couple of hours – all of it amicable but none of it overly personal either – before he finally left. Once he was gone Henry had come out of his room and questioned why she had let him stay the night. She tried to explain that she had so that she could give Stephen the chance to make things up to Henry. But Henry was still skeptical and so was she.

It seemed since then that there had hardly been a day that Stephen wasn't stopping by or calling. He always called Regina's phone first and spoke with her before asking to speak to Henry. On those days he would stop by, he would hang out with Henry – watching a movie or playing a video game – and then spend time talking with Regina.

Two nights ago he had stopped by to say goodbye to Henry before he had to leave on a business trip. He promised to bring Henry back a present and before leaving he went out of his way to explain to Regina that this was indeed just a business trip. He apologized to her for all the hurt he had caused her during the course of their marriage and the aftermath.

And then he kissed her.

Regina hadn't really said anything as Stephen was out the door moments later, but she knew when he returned she was going to have to speak to him about it.

Suddenly her thoughts turned to Emma. She grabbed her phone and held it for a moment, considering whether or not to text her. She didn't want to disturb her if she was working, or perhaps in bed already – or on a date. She put the phone back down since she didn't know what to say to Emma if she did text her.

They hadn't seen each other since they spent the day with Henry. She got the feeling that Emma, like Katherine, did not approve of her allowing Stephen back into their lives – Henry's life, she mentally corrected herself.

When they had texted a few days ago Emma had said she was busy getting ready for a date. Regina wished her well and nothing more had been said about it. This was the first time Emma had ever mentioned dating anyone. Yes, Regina knew she had dated in the past as Emma had spoken of a couple of past relationships, but this was the first time Emma had mentioned having a date in the present time. Regina wondered if this was a first date – and if so how did they meet. Emma hadn't offered up any details.

She thought back to that afternoon spent with Emma and Henry. She had really enjoyed it – even going to get hot dogs. If Stephen hadn't have called her numerous times that day she would have said it was an almost perfect day. Emma was so good with Henry and Henry really liked her. Then there was the ease with which she and Emma interacted. There was just something about Emma that made it easy for Regina to open up to her. She thought maybe it was because she felt safe with Emma. Emma was a protector and not just because of her job – she exuded this feeling that she would do whatever it takes to keep a person safe. Regina had been hurt in the past, not just from Stephen, but Regina felt like Emma would never hurt her like that.

…..

Emma was reviewing some files when her phone buzzed. She looked down at it – Henry.

The kid had insisted on having her phone number after she had hung out with him and Regina a couple of times, but he never texted her. She called up the message.

"Mom and dad are fighting."

Emma bit her lip, trying to think how to respond and if she should at all. It wasn't any of her business and she wasn't sure why Henry would be texting her tell her this. It's none of your business, she said out loud and put the phone back down.

A few minutes later, there was another text.

"They are yelling a lot. What do I do if he hits her?"

This got Emma's attention and she didn't bother texting, she dialed Henry's number as she went out the door.

"What do you mean what do you do if he hits her, has he hit her before?" she asked as soon as he answered.

"Just the once, when they were getting divorced," he said. "Mom doesn't know that I know."

"Where are you at right now?"

"I am in my room."

"Good. Listen to me Henry, you stay there in your room as long as they are out there fighting. Unless your mom calls for you, you do not leave your room. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I am on my way there."


	8. Chapter 8

Emma wasn't aware of how fast her heart was beating or the fact she hadn't brought a coat with her despite the rain. The only thing she could think about was getting to Regina's. She entered the building and went straight for the elevators even as she heard someone say "Miss." She hit the up button and considered running up the stairs instead of waiting.

"Miss," the voice said this time with a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see one of the front desk workers. "Who are you here to see?"

"Regina," she said impatiently.

"Does the guest know you are coming, I am afraid we have no one expected."

Emma knew that residents here left guest names at the front desk so they were allowed up and Regina didn't know she was coming.

"Look," she said. "Her son, Henry called me and he is worried about his mom – something may be going on up there and I'm going up to check on her whether you like it or not. Call the cops if you want I don't care, but I am sure as hell going up."

The elevator opened and she hurried inside staring the man down as she selected the floor to go to.

She knew it was her anxiousness that was making her feel like the elevator was going extra slow even though the rational part of her mind knew it was not. That rational part of her mind was being shoved aside though the longer this was taking. Finally the doors opened and exited, going to Regina's door and pounding on it.

When the door opened a surprised looking Regina was there, "Emma?"

"Are you ok?" Emma asked.

"What?"

"Are you ok?" she said more forcefully as she slipped inside, passing Regina and ending up in main room where she was now facing Stephen who was across the room. Regina came up next to her.

"Emma, what are you doing here?"

"Who is this?" Stephen asked.

"Henry texted me," Emma said, never taking her eyes off Stephen. "He was worried, said you two were fighting."

The phone was ringing, but no one moved.

"I don't know who you are, but we're having a private conversation here, and we would like you to leave," Stephen said taking a step toward her.

"You don't live here so that's not your call," Emma said taking a step toward him so he would know she wasn't intimidated by him the least bit. When she took that step she made sure to shift a little to place herself between him and Regina. If he tried something her first priority was to keep Regina safe.

The phone kept ringing – still no one made a move.

"Who is this person?" Stephen asked Regina.

"She's a friend," Regina said.

"What kind of friend?" Stephen said crossing his arms.

"This is just some sort of misunderstanding I'm sure," Regina said and she put her hand on Emma's forearm. "Let's talk in the kitchen."

Emma backed up and went with Regina.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked her immediately upon entering. She kept her voice down as she did it.

"Henry texted me and said you two were fighting. He was worried about what Stephen might do to you," Emma said. "Has he laid a hand on you?"

"No," Regina said shaking her head. "Where would you … did Henry say something?"

"He said Stephen hit you before."

"I don't know why he would say that," Regina said. "It never happened."  
Emma noticed Regina wouldn't look her in the eyes as she said it.

"Do you want me to make sure he leaves because I can do that?" Emma said.

"I … yes we were having a discussion, but …" she took a step away from Emma. "I am sorry Henry contacted you, I have everything under control here."

Emma could see that Regina seemed unsure, frazzled even, so she moved closer taking her hand in hers. "I can take care of this situation for you," she said. "I can make sure he leaves quietly without any conflict."

Regina looked down at their hands before pulling away. "I have this handled," she said even if it lacked her normal assuredness. "I will talk to Henry and make sure he doesn't bother you. Again, I am sorry and I appreciate your willingness to come here, but I don't need your help."

"You can't think I'm just going to walk out of here and leave him here with you and Henry," Emma said closing the distance between them once more. "I'm not going to leave until I am sure you and Henry are safe."

She reached up and cupped her hand around Regina's neck, placing her thumb along her jaw line, staring at her – trying to let her eyes convey what she couldn't say out loud. "I need to know you are safe," she said softly.

"Don't," Regina said, releasing herself from Emma's touch. "I …we … you and I are never going to be anything but friends, don't ruin that."

This time Emma was the one backing away.

"I'm sorry," Regina apologized again. "I've tried to let you know that, I tried because I didn't want it to get awkward like this between us. I care about you, but if you think it could ever be something more …I'm sorry."

"She's in there," Emma heard Stephen say and the next thing she knew Stephen was standing there with who she guessed was building security. She didn't barely heard the exchange between Regina and the two guards as she assured them everything was fine and she apologized to them for the disturbance.

Emma didn't wait for the rest of it as she walked out.

….

Katherine watched Regina from across the room. She could tell Regina wasn't paying any attention to whatever the guy who was talking to her was saying. Katherine's husband was hosting this get together at their place and Katherine had practically forced Regina to come but she knew Regina was probably going to bolt at her earliest convenience.

She studied her friend, picking up on things that others probably wouldn't – like how Regina despite eating anything and everything she wanted to taste has actually lost weight. It didn't make her look sickly or anything, but Katherine noticed her cheekbones and collarbones seemed a little more prominent because of it.

Regina was also bored and completely uninterested in what was going on around her, which could be said about her life now, not just this party. Katherine had gone as far as talking to Grant the other day to find out how work life was going. Grant too was worried about her, her whole staff was worried about her, although outside of Grant none of them knew what was bothering her. Grant told her that Regina barely left her office anymore. She let Grant handle most kitchen meetings so she was rarely if ever in there. Her time spent on the floor had also diminished.

Work itself was booming so there were no concerns there that Grant knew of. Their profits had increased year over year and they continued to get favorable reviews and feedback.

Katherine had gone to Grant to make sure there wasn't a work issue that she was unaware of, even though she knew that wasn't what had Regina depressed. No, she knew exactly what was bothering her friend – a certain blonde whom Regina had treated unfairly. It was a couple of days after the incident that Katherine finally got the story about what happened the night Emma had shown up at the apartment after Henry had texted her. She had listened carefully as she always did but when Regina was done telling her she had only one question she could think to ask – "Why would you say something like that to her in that situation? She was only there out of concern for you and Henry."

Regina didn't really have an answer for her at the time, and Katherine wasn't sure Regina had an answer even after nearly three months.

Katherine saw Regina excuse herself from the man who had been talking to her, place her barely touched glass of wine down and head toward the door. Katherine moved to intercept her as she was putting on her coat.

"Leaving without saying goodbye?" Katherine said.

"I didn't want to interrupt you. It's your party," Regina said. "I'm going home. I will call you tomorrow."

Katherine stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. "I'm worried about you."

Regina gave her a weak smile, "I'm fine, go back and enjoy the party. You can tell me all the good gossip tomorrow."

"Tomorrow then," Katherine said letting Regina go.

…

Grant entered the restaurant through the back as he always did. He was never sure if he ever wanted to have his own restaurant because he knew to be the owner would mean less time in the kitchen. Ever since he was a kid, he had wanted to be in the kitchen. That is why he was so appreciative of Regina for giving him this job. He knew he wasn't the most qualified candidate and based on his resume he was honored just for the chance to interview with her.

But that first time they were in the kitchen together as he prepared a dish for her as part of the interview he knew they just understood each other. They clicked like no one else he had ever been with in a kitchen.

These last couple of months had been hard for him because they were rarely in the kitchen together so he felt like he lost that connection that made it easy for him to talk to her – and lately she seemed like she needed someone to talk to.

As he hung up his coat, Carlo, who was their tournant, came rushing up to him. "Regina's here," Carlo said quietly.

"Well it is her place," Grant said in amusement.

"No, I mean she is here, here, in the kitchen. Apparently she had been here since we opened cooking."

Grant gave him a quizzical look and then stepped out into the kitchen, his eyes moving directly to "Regina's station." When the restaurant was designed Regina had insisted on having her own station in the kitchen. It was in the back on the other side of the walk in freezer from most of the other stations. It was here that she would cook when she felt like trying out a new recipe, or experimenting, or that time when Grant's grandmother had passed away and she had given him more than week off despite him being out of paid time off so he could fly back Georgia to be with is family. Regina had taken his place in the kitchen that entire time.

Most kitchens were tight on space but not Regina's – was it tight yes, but she sacrificed some extra dining spots to make sure she had her station when she wanted it.

Grant walked up behind her somewhat cautiously, as she was deep in concentration. As he got up next to her station he saw immediately what she was working on – Boeuf Bourguignon – a recipe he knew Regina enjoyed making. If you did it very traditionally it required a lot of ingredients and time. Regina liked it because she first had it when she was in France with her parents on one of her father's diplomatic trips and after speaking with the chef about it (at age 10) she laughed that he made the joke that the French couldn't help but "French up" beef stew.

Based on where she was at in the process he guessed that if it met her standards some people during their dinner rush were going to get an extra treat. It wasn't on the menu but that was the thing about having Regina in the kitchen, she often made off-the-menu items that the staff could then pitch to their customers if they were having trouble deciding. Grant too made off-the-menu items as was his choice as executive chef. Many of their regulars had caught onto it and would often ask the servers if there were any such options available to them that day.

He heard a ding at his station and was surprised. People didn't just use his station but when Regina stopped what she was doing and moved over to it, he could only smile. He watched as she pulled out a salt-crusted fish and then proceeded to lightly pour a lemon butter sauce around it and then drizzled just the barest amount over it. It was appropriately garnished and looked and smelled delicious, although Grant thought the sauce seemed unusually thick.

"Special order up," she yelled out and one of the servers came forward and took for their tray.

She went quickly back to her station. "Sorry about usurping your place, but I wanted to try a new sauce out and I was full up over here,"

As soon as she said new sauce he went over to the pan still on his station and wiped up some of it from around the rim, tasting it. "Oh God," he said. "That is more like a cream sauce, no wonder it was so thick. How did you get the butter and wine to not break up the fluffiness?"

"Hand whisking of the cream; and letting the wine and butter cook down more than you normally would before adding it," she said, not looking up at him.

Grant smiled again and dove into work – Regina would be fine at least while she was in the kitchen today.

After closing, Grant went to Regina's office where she had retired about an hour before closing time. He carried in a bottle of wine and two glasses. Without saying a word he poured a glass for each of them.

"It was good to see you in the kitchen today," he said taking a seat and sip of his wine.

She smiled – a real smile, not the ones she had given lately. "It was a good day," she said.

"Our guests certainly seemed happy with their additional choices today," he said. Taking his cue from Regina he too had prepared many special orders today. He and Regina had worked on one together at his station and ended up out on the floor to the applause of their customers.

"It is going to be a sad yet extremely happy day for me when you decide to open up a place of your own," she said.

"How do you know I won't just stay here forever?"

"I would be extremely happy about that too."

"Good because it's been awhile since you have been extremely happy," he said.

"It was a good day Grant, let's not ruin it," she said.

"It had been a good day which is why I feel compelled to speak," he said. "Just go talk to her."

He didn't need to say who she was.

Regina ran her finger along the rim of the glass. She had yet to take a drink. "I had breakfast with Katherine this morning. And yes I know you two have been conspiring behind my back."

"I would hardly call it conspiring. We are both worried about you is all."

"I know," she said. "It's not like I haven't tried to talk to Emma, to apologize to her, but she's ignored me. I messed up and now I don't know what to do."

"Well you're about as miserable as I have ever seen you and since it's this thing between you and Emma that is causing it; you're going to have to find a way to get her to talk to you."

"I called her the next day, she didn't return my calls, she didn't return my texts. I tried calling her again all that week and leaving messages and I even sent her flowers. She doesn't want anything to do with me, so it's best to move on," she said putting the wine glass down.

"It's been like three months so if you were ready to move on or felt like you could move on, you would have done it by now," he said. "Have you called her since – you know did you call her after a month passed to give her time to cool down?"

Regina was silent.

"Really?" he said. "God, you are even a woman, you should know how women like these things to be handled. You got to give her time to cool down after the initial blow and try again."

"But it's too late," she said. "I let too much time pass."

"Says who?"

"Me, a woman."

"I don't think it's too late," he said. "And if you go at it with that attitude, it will be too late." He stood up. "Today was a good day, even with this deep talking shit, it was a good day. It was good to see you smiling again, good to see you in the kitchen again. Now I am going to take my bottle of wine and go home. Just think about what I said Gina."

"Don't call me Gina," she said smiling at him.

….

Regina was beyond nervous as she knocked on the door. Even though she was expected, it didn't do anything to help the racing of heart.

The door opened.

"Hi."

"Hi," Regina said.

"Come in."

"Thanks," she said entering the home. Almost immediately she nearly stepped onto a child's toy.

"Sorry," she said picking up the toy and moving it out of the way. She turned to face Regina. "It's good to see you. It's … it's been a long time."

"Yes it has. How have you been?" Regina asked.

"Good. Busy. And you?"

"The same."

"Well not exactly the same," she said. "Or you wouldn't be on my doorstep. I admit I was surprised to hear from you. I didn't think that would ever happen."

"Neither did I," Regina admitted.

"I guess that begs the question of why are you here? Don't get me wrong, it is great to see you, but we didn't exactly end things on good terms."

"I know Danielle," she said. "To be honest, I don't really know what I am doing here except I know I need to come to terms with my past before I can move on."

Danielle seemed to consider for a moment. "Why don't we go sit down? Something tells me this is a long overdue conversation that might involve something to drink."


	9. Chapter 9

"Are we going to go in or sit out here all night?" Katherine asked. She and Regina were sitting in Katherine's car – well her rental car as she rarely took her own out of its long term parking garage. It was New York after all, and she refused to take a taxi on this little mission of Regina's.

They had been sitting there for almost 10 minutes and Katherine was regretting telling Regina to take all the time she needed when they first arrived.

She sighed, "Look, she's either in there or she's not. We go in, we have a drink if she shows then yay for coincidence. If not well I have a bottle of whiskey at my place."

Regina merely nodded and Katherine figured they would be in and out of this place in less than 20 minutes. Even if Emma were there Regina was way too tense and nervous for this to go well. The normally cool and calm exterior Regina put out to the world was definitely not on display tonight.

When Regina made no move to actually get out of the car, Katherine did. Her door was shut and she was walking around to Regina's side before Regina even made a move. Finally they were both out and Katherine led the way across the street and then up the sidewalk to the bar.

All she knew about the place was that Emma had told Regina she lived nearby and this was sort of her go-to bar because she was friends with the owner. Regina had never been to Emma's place although she knew it was near here but she didn't know exactly where which left her with hunting down Emma here at the bar. Regina had tried calling Emma again multiple times in the last week but Emma never answered and never called her back.

Katherine had to give Regina some credit for being persistent enough to come here.

It wasn't a bad neighborhood – not as well off as where she lived and Regina lived, but this was hardly the slums either. Emma had to make good money to afford to live here given the price of New York's rentals.

Regina knew she was firmly in the wrong with what happened with Emma and she also seemed to realize now that she was going to continue to be unhappy if she didn't have the chance to apologize to her in person. What surprised Katherine was that Regina had gone to see Danielle. If Katherine was a betting person she would never have taken the bet of Regina ever speaking with Danielle ever again. And it was probably smart she hadn't told Katherine in advance of her going there as Katherine would have had some choice words to say about it.

Katherine wasn't sure who she hated more Stephen or Danielle, although after this latest issue Stephen had pulled ahead considerably. Where she had never really taken to Stephen, she had liked Danielle which made it all worse when she did what she had done to Regina.

She just wanted Regina to be happy but it seemed like all Regina ever did was get hurt – but now she had hurt someone and knowing what that felt like from her own experience she was now desperate to get Emma to hear her out.

They entered the bar and Katherine realized it was much bigger than she had thought from the outside. There were flat-screen TVs all around the place playing a variety of things from music videos, news, to sports and she wasn't sure but there may have been one set to TV Land. She hadn't been sure what to expect from the place but this wasn't it. It was like it catered to everything but nothing at the same time and given the diversity of people she saw –not just culturally but by race, but also straight and gay couples. She had sort of thought they might be going to a lesbian bar given Emma's sexuality, and she scolded herself for being so close-minded.

They found a small table to sit at and Katherine ordered them both a drink when the server came over as it was clear Regina was looking around the bar for one person. There was a band playing and the dance floor area looked packed.

But even as she glanced around she didn't see Emma.

Yep she thought, we will be out of here in less than 20 minutes.

….

Ruby was usually busy on Friday and Saturday nights and this Friday was no different. Her place was filled and she was behind the bar helping out although she had enough on staff to handle it. This is usually where she liked to be though.

Normally, she gave people only cursory looks unless she knew them – recognizing regulars or saying hello to friends. Otherwise on crowded nights people's faces tended to all blur together for her.

That is why she was surprised when she noticed two women sitting off toward her left about midway between the bar and the door.

She tended to get all types in her place and there was nothing that made these particularly stand out except she thought the brunette was familiar. She moved around toward the end of the bar closer to them hoping to get a better look but all she could get was a profile as the woman appeared to be looking around for someone. The other woman was also looking but not nearly as intently as the brunette.

Having only seen a picture of her, Ruby wasn't sure if the woman was who she was thinking she was – Emma's Regina.

Ruby left the bar and walked up to the bouncer at the door with the excuse of checking on things so that she could walk by the two women. When she saw her full on, she was about 90 percent sure that it was indeed Regina.

After speaking with the bouncer and getting another look on her way back, she went to her office where she dialed Emma.

"Pick up, pick up," she said out loud as she waited. Emma had been harder to get a hold of lately and Ruby often had to leave messages which Emma may or may not return. Emma always apologized however.

She knew what had happened between Emma and Regina and she knew her friend was torn up about it, especially at the beginning. Now it was like some of the light had gone out of Emma.

She got voicemail. "Emma, call me when you get this. I think Regina is here looking for you. I am not 100 percent sure it's her but I think it is. Just call me please."

She tucked her phone in her pants pocket feeling doubtful she would get a call back and she went back out to the bar. She stood against it, not actively working and considered this woman who was still searching the faces for the one she was looking for. Her friend had already stopped and was sipping her drink.

"Fuck it," Ruby said and she approached the table. "If you are looking for Emma she isn't here and even if she was, you aren't someone she wants to see or speak to."

She could tell her bluntness caught both women off guard.

"Yes, I know who you are," Ruby continued. "And I know what you did. Emma's my friend and what she doesn't need is someone in her life who is … as cruel as you were to her. Did it ever occur to you that Emma was only there to protect you, to make sure you and your son were ok? Emma doesn't cross boundaries and you made it clear beforehand that you weren't interested in her that way. Yes, she was aware you weren't as you apparently dropped enough hints about it. She would never have crossed that line with you. Now I don't know if you and your friend paid for your drinks yet or not but if you haven't consider them on the house and get out of my place."

"Please," Regina said grabbing Ruby's arm as she turned to leave. "Please, I need to talk to her. I know how badly I messed up, I do; I just want to talk to her. I am not here to hurt her; that is the last thing I want. I am sorry for coming here, but I need to speak with her and I didn't know where she lived and I know she comes here sometimes. She won't return my calls…"

"Because she doesn't want to speak to you," Ruby interrupted. "Like I said, it would be best if you go."

"Regina," the other woman said. She had stood up already and she placed a hand on Regina's shoulder. "Let's go."

Ruby saw that Regina didn't want to go, but then her shoulders sunk a fraction of an inch and she turned and walked out. The other woman was still standing there.

"What Regina did was wrong. We all know it, she knows it," she said to Ruby. "She only wants to apologize. I know you probably don't care, but Regina has been torn up about this since it happened. She cares about Emma a lot. You don't have to believe it. You can think ill of Regina all you want, but she does care about Emma."

"And Emma cared about her," Ruby said. "Cared enough to be there that night to make sure that ex-husband of hers didn't try anything and what does she get in return, a rejection when it was never about that."

"And what happened that night was never about Emma, not really. When you've been hurt enough times at some point you expect it to keep happening."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means my friend has been hurt enough that she understands the hurt she caused your friend. She really does want to apologize, that's it. She will leave Emma alone after that if that is what Emma wants. She only wants the chance to say she is sorry. Please tell her that."

Ruby felt her phone vibrate in her pants and by the time she pulled it out to see it was Emma calling the other woman was walking away. Ruby answered it as she walked back to her office.

"Is she really there?" Emma asked.

"She was, but I told her you weren't here and it was probably best if she and her friend left."

"What friend?"

Ruby described her.

"That's her best friend Katherine."

"Well they are both gone now and I don't think they will be coming back."

"Oh."

"Should I have not told them to leave?"

"No, it's not … it's for the best. She and I have no reason to be in each other's lives. It was stupid to even think we could be friends," Emma said.

"It wasn't stupid," Ruby sighed. "She said she wanted to apologize to you."

"Yes that is what her messages keep saying. Maybe I should send her a text, tell her I accept her apology but don't want to talk to her."

"Do you accept her apology?"

There was a long pause.

"That Katherine had something to say too," Ruby said when Emma continued to be silent. She told her what Katherine told her. "Are you going to text her?"

"I don't know," she said.

….  
When Katherine got back to the car Regina was sitting there in silence. By the time she got Regina home, she was crying.

Katherine could remember the three previous times Regina had cried and as far as Katherine knew they could very well be the only times she had ever cried. The first was when she found out she was infertile. The second was when Danielle gave her back the engagement ring. The third was when she found out Stephen was cheating on her.

It was so rare for Regina to get emotional like this that Katherine was always unsure how to proceed with her. Since she wasn't sure why exactly Regina was crying – yes she understood it was the situation with Emma, but she didn't know why Regina was crying over it – she didn't really know what to do.

She was thankful that Henry was over at a friend's house because he didn't need to see his mother crying.

They were on the couch, she was sitting up and Regina was lying down her head in Katherine's lap as she cried quietly. Katherine didn't say much deciding to stay quiet until Regina chose to speak. She was beginning to calm down, but she still hadn't said anything since they left the bar.

A ringing phone startled her and Regina, who sat up and wiped away the tears. "I should get that it could be Henry."

"I got it," Katherine said getting up and fishing Regina's phone out of her purse. "Hello."

She looked over at Regina while the person on the other end spoke. "Um yes, yes send her up please."

She hung up the phone. "That was the front desk. Emma is here. She's on her way up."


	10. Chapter 10

Katherine opened the door to let Emma in.

"She's freshening up," Katherine said as a way to explain why Regina wasn't there to greet her.

"I won't be staying long," Emma said.

They waited another minute for Regina to enter the room. Katherine went up to Regina. "I will call you tomorrow," she said before walking to the door. "Good night Emma."

Emma didn't say anything to her as she left.

The two women stood there staring at each other for several heartbeats.

"Do you want to sit down?" Regina said.

"No," Emma said, crossing her arms. "I just came to tell you that I've gotten your numerous messages and I get that you're sorry, but it doesn't really matter. Look you and I are from two different worlds. A friendship was … well it wasn't ever going to work so I think it's best if we stick to our own worlds from here on out."

Emma stepped to the door.

"Please," Regina said. "I want to explain …"

"Explain what?" Emma said whirling around to face her. "Do you want to explain how I ended up being the bad guy that night when all I did was come here to make sure you and Henry were ok? Or maybe explain why you immediately jumped to the idea that since I am a lesbian I must be after you sexually? What is it that you think you can say that will make a bit of difference?"

"I don't know," Regina said. "I don't know that anything I say will make a difference, but I have to try. Please Emma, please don't leave. Give me a chance."

"Why should I?"

"Because your friendship means so much to me, and did I ruin it, yes I did, but I want the chance to fix it. I don't deserve the chance, I know this, but I am going to ask for it anyway," Regina pleaded.

"Did Stephen hit you?"

"What?"

"You heard me. I asked you that night if Stephen had hit you before and you said no. Was that true?"

Regina bowed her head slightly and then shook her head no. "No," she said out loud after a moment.

Emma turned from her and hit the door with her fist and then faced Regina again. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Do you think me being hit my husband was something to be proud of? It only happened the one time after we were separated and during the worst part of our divorce. I didn't even know that Henry knew. I never even told Katherine that happened. And you … I didn't want you of all people knowing that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Regina licked her lips and sighed. "You deal with people who are victims every day you work. I didn't want you thinking of me like that."

"I don't think of you that way, even knowing what I know now I don't think of you like a victim. Jesus, the first time I saw you, you took on a man who had a knife to your throat and you freed yourself from him. Lots of people have been victims of domestic violence but it doesn't mean it defines who they are. When Henry told me that Stephen had done that though I couldn't sit by and risk that he would do it again. Your son called me. He called me because he was worried about you and he didn't know what to do about it."

"I know," Regina said desperately. "That night … it got out of control so fast and then you showed up and … first of all, I am sorry. What I said to you that night was inexcusable and I understand if you find it completely unforgivable …"

"Why did you say it?" Emma interrupted.

"I don't really know why I said it, at least not why I chose that moment to say it. My emotions that night were … I don't like feeling out of control of a situation and that is exactly what happened that night. I don't handle personal conflict well," Regina said. "I was on the defensive and then you showed up and instead of keeping my focus on Stephen I was cruel to you and you didn't deserve that. You did nothing wrong, you haven't done anything wrong."

Emma crossed her arms again, studying Regina. She could tell the other woman was genuinely remorseful about what she had said, but it wasn't enough for Emma to even think about forgiving her.

"You still haven't explained why you said it," Emma said. "I'm not an idiot. In the weeks before all of that you had dropped enough hints for me to understand that you weren't looking for anything but friendship from me. Did you think because I am a lesbian that I am incapable of maintaining a friendship with a woman, even one I find attractive?"

"I wasn't thinking of you at all when I said it," Regina said. "I was thinking of myself, of protecting myself. Not from you. I hope you can understand that." She paused, not knowing how to proceed and she could tell Emma's patience with her was waning.

"I was engaged once before Stephen," Regina continued. "I was happy and I was in love and I was with the woman I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Her name was Danielle, and I was so taken with her that I got my grandmother's engagement ring from my mother and I asked Danielle to marry me. She didn't even hesitate to say yes. We were engaged for five months and then one night she destroyed me. I don't know any other way to describe it. When Stephen first cheated on me, I was upset and I was angry but in some ways it wasn't that big of a deal to me and I realized later it was because while what he did hurt, it wasn't even in the same realm of hurt for what Danielle did to me. I have carried that hurt with me for a long time; not really facing it or dealing with it until that night I lashed out at you and I realized why I did it was because I didn't want to be in a position to be hurt like that again. I know it sounds stupid and I know you wouldn't hurt me like she did, but I had spent the years after Danielle building a life that would ensure I was never put in that kind of situation again and then you came into my life and for the first time I was having to deal with having feelings for a woman again – feelings that went further than friendship."

Emma was taken aback by the admission. She had thought Regina had been dropping all the friendship references and not being ready for a relationship hints because she was afraid Emma was going to hit on her and ruin things, but by what she was saying now it was less about Emma and more about what she was feeling.

"What did this Danielle do to you?" Emma asked, and she felt bad immediately because she could see a flicker of remembered pain briefly pass Regina's countenance.

"Would you like to sit down, it's not a brief story."

Emma nodded and Emma took a seat in the chair while Regina sat on the couch.

"I am bisexual," she began. "I know you and I have never officially stated what our sexualities are and really, it's not something I discuss much anymore. I was engaged to a woman and then married to a man so there are a lot of people who know and there are a lot of people who don't know. Like Henry. He knows nothing of my past relationships and I have seen no reason to talk to him about it. I guess for all intent and purposes, since dating Stephen I've lived life like I was straight. Before Danielle, I never saw being bisexual as something I should be ashamed of. I mean I can't help that I am attracted to women and men. I like to think that the way I was raised – being exposed to a lot of different cultures – that it made me accepting of myself and others. I had dated men and women but my relationships tended to be short-lived. I was always so focused on my professional goals that I tended to put something like love on the back burner. Then I met Danielle."

"She was working for a marketing firm that was doing mock ups for advertising for a restaurant I was working at. I was fresh out of culinary school and this was my first placement and she was a junior ad rep for the firm, but had come to the restaurant with a senior rep in order to learn the ins and outs of running a major campaign. I wasn't even supposed to be there but the chef had asked me to come in when someone else called in sick. We weren't open yet, but we cooked a meal for some display shots. I saw her and she saw me and she smiled and I smiled back. I don't recall saying more than a couple of words to her that entire time."

"The next day she called the restaurant, asked for me and then asked me out on a date. I accepted and we dated for three years – moving in together after two years – and then I asked her to marry me. I should back up a moment. Danielle is a lesbian and I had no issue with that obviously but I didn't realize how much me being bisexual bothered her."

Regina stopped talking a moment and Emma didn't say anything in the interim.

"There were signs of course, things I chose to ignore at the times they happened. She would make comments to our friends – small things like 'I've been waiting for Regina to come out of the closet' or 'don't ask Regina to make a decision, she can't even choose between men and women.' She would say things like that in a joking manner and while I didn't find it funny, I never called her on it either. I loved her and I was secure in the idea that she loved me and this was just some little insignificant thing with her. Danielle is very much out there – she is very active in Pride Week and working toward equal rights. I admired her for it, and while together I helped her when I could. It was a busy time for me and my career because I was still in someone else's kitchen – I wasn't a head chef or anything. When I couldn't help her out because of this, she'd get upset or accusatory about why I didn't find these activities to be worth my time."

"When we became engaged, I thought it would show her that I was committed not just to her but to all the things that made her happy. Then one night I had an offer to meet with a restaurant owner to be a head chef. It was the opportunity I had been waiting for. These things tend to happen fast in our business because if there is a hot, up and coming chef, if you are an owner you want to snag that person before someone else does. I had to work that day at my job so I couldn't meet this owner until afterwards. It was late – I had brought clothes to change into and made myself presentable and went to his restaurant. I cooked a dish and spoke with him for two hours, which really isn't that much time, but it's not like he was unfamiliar with me either. He offered me the job that night and I accepted. I went home and I was so excited that I hadn't even called or texted Danielle afterward because I wanted to tell her in person."

"This was like three in the morning at this time and I came home with a bottle of wine to celebrate. Danielle was in bed and I woke her and I told her the good news and she said congratulations in a tone that suggested she was anything but happy for me and then said she had a bad headache and maybe we could celebrate later. The celebration never happened because after a few days of getting the cold shoulder things blew up between us. It was a few weeks before the next Pride Week and it was a Saturday afternoon and we were at a friend's house where Danielle was running a planning meeting. Someone asked if I was going to be at a party that was going on during kickoff weekend and I told them I didn't know and I explained about accepting the new job and Danielle says in front of everyone that 'Pride isn't as important to people who are too afraid to come out of the closet.' There was this moment of awkward silence and then some people told me congratulations on the new job and the rest of the time Danielle and I didn't exchange a single word until we got home."

"I immediately asked her what was wrong, if I had done something and she apologizes to me for saying what she had said in front of everyone but that she wouldn't apologize for saying the actual words. She started going on and on about how she was tired of me living in denial and that before we got married she needed me to stop pretending that me saying I was bisexual was anything more than a way to appease my parents so they didn't have to tell people I was a lesbian. I was beyond shocked. Sure I had seen prejudice against people – my mother sees it all the time in her work – I wasn't blind to it, but for her to say that to me."

"I tried to explain, to reason with her and make her understand I wasn't a lesbian and I wasn't going to come out of the closet like she wanted me to do. I had already done my coming out and she laughed at me and asked how could I when all I was telling people when I said I was bisexual was that I was a lesbian who was too afraid to admit it so I had to make up this fantasy that I was actually attracted to men. I couldn't understand how this person I had given my heart to could not see who I really was. Even with that though I didn't think things were going to end between us and then she um … then she said …"

Emma watched as a tear came down Regina's face. She could tell Regina had been crying earlier because of her bloodshot eyes, but something about seeing that single tear slide down her skin made Emma feel like she was seeing not some far away pain, but a present hurt.

"You don't have to say anything," Emma said. "You don't have to put yourself through this for my benefit."

"No, I need you to hear this," Regina said resolutely. She didn't bother to wipe away the tear. "She said there was nothing a man could give me that she couldn't, after all neither she nor any man could ever give me a child."

Regina looked away from her this time as she composed herself. Emma heard her give a big intake of breath before turning back to her.

"About a year before I had asked her to marry me, I found out I couldn't have children. I was infertile and even though at the time I wasn't really thinking about having children, it still hurt so much and for her to throw that back in my face like that … and the thing was, she wasn't even apologetic about it. It didn't make her pause and think about what she had said or what that meant to me. She merely looked at me and said if I couldn't admit I was a lesbian then she couldn't marry me. She took the ring off her hand and placed it on the coffee table and she walked out."

"I was in a real bad place in the aftermath. I stayed in a hotel for a while to give her the chance to get her stuff out – Katherine coordinated it all because I wouldn't speak to her and she didn't try to reach out to me. The place was in my name but I didn't want to be there afterwards so I moved. I poured all my energy into my new job and I tried to forget about the fact that the woman I loved had this hate for me because of something I couldn't control. It messed with me more than I could have expected. Then one day I decided that I wasn't ever going to be hurt like that again. I was going to protect myself from it at all costs. And then I met you and you made me feel things I swore I would never feel for another woman again. That night with Stephen, when you showed up, I don't know how to explain it except to say that I felt like two worlds were colliding and I had to get control of it and when I said that to you, I realized what I had done was no better than what Danielle had done to me."

"I kept calling you and calling you to apologize and then I stopped but I still wasn't happy; in fact I was miserable. I needed you to hear me out whether you ever forgave me or not. I needed you to know that it wasn't you that I was angry at that time, I was angry at myself. She made me feel that being like this, being attracted to two genders was wrong and she succeeded so well in it that the first time since then that I have felt a connection with another woman – I ignored it and I pushed it away but in order to do so I had to push you away too. You didn't deserve that. I'm sorry."

Emma sat there silently thinking about all that Regina had said. Finally she stood up. "I'm sorry your ex treated you like that," she said. "I'm sorry she hurt you. What you said that night to me hurt me too. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, maybe too much time, and while I appreciate you trying to explain it, I just don't know that it make a difference. I need some time and I'm asking you to give me that. No more texts, no more calls. I will contact you if this is something I think I can get past. If not, I'm still glad I met you Regina and Henry."

She said nothing else as she walked to the door, pausing only a couple of seconds with her hand on the doorknob before exiting.


	11. Chapter 11

Regina was busy, as usual, but this time it was because she had to play head chef as Grant had been out sick with the flu for three days now. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal except another chef had called in sick and she had another on vacation, leaving her as the only one with the skills to lead the kitchen. It's not that she didn't find the rest of her staff fully capable, but the others had either shown no desire to move up the ranks as they were happy in their current roles or they weren't quite there yet in their development.

So for the past three days she had been in the kitchen and on top of having the health inspector there for their regularly scheduled inspection earlier, she was already tired.

She had spoken to Grant earlier that day and while he was sounding better she didn't figure he would be in for another couple of days.

She was not even supposed to be working nights this week as the 17-year-old girl who lived two floors down from them and who she paid to hang out at her place with Henry (she didn't dare call it babysitting) was out all week on some school trip. Katherine was out of town and her other back up was not available so she wrestled with what to do with Henry. She could have brought him to work with her but ever since the night that man had come into the kitchen and held her knifepoint – the night she met Emma – she had been hesitant to bring him here.

In the end she let Henry convince her to let him stay at home without an overseer. That isn't to say she wasn't checking in on him – as was Sydney who agreed to pop upstairs every hour or so and look in on him.

She still didn't like leaving him alone like that but her options were limited.

Thinking of the circumstances that made her wary about bringing him to her work, she had of course thought about Emma. Funny enough, she thought that if she and Emma were still friends she had no doubt Emma would have watched Henry if needed. Yet she hadn't heard from the other woman since she had tried to explain to her why she had reacted the way she had that night. It had been nearly a month since that had taken place and she hadn't heard from Emma and expected she would not be hearing from her.

She knew she was in the wrong with what happened and she could only hope that one day Emma could look back and not feel ill will toward her.

That is why she had gone to see Danielle – she had to face the woman and gain some closure of that part of her life. She had finally gotten an apology from her, although Danielle admitted she still struggled with the idea that someone could be attracted to men and women. There had been times over the years, Danielle said, that she had thought about reaching out to Regina to try and mend fences. When Regina asked her why she hadn't, Danielle said she just assumed it might be best to leave the past in the past and not bring up past hurts. After all they had both moved on.

The whole encounter felt odd to Regina only because she had thought in seeing Danielle again there might be some stirring of her old feelings, but there wasn't any. It was much like how she felt about Stephen – someone she used to love but no longer felt that affinity for.

She had tried not to think of Emma, but had failed constantly. When she first accepted Emma's dinner invitation that first time she truly had thought they could be friends. Yes, Emma would be unlike her other friends – she didn't come from the social circle as Regina, nor would she be friend from the business but that didn't matter to Regina. She could still picture Emma the first time she had seen her – the fierce determination in the other woman's eyes as she stared down the man who held a knife to her throat. The way she made sure Henry was safely out of the way.

Regina had honestly thought a friendship could work.

Then she found herself smiling every time she got a text from Emma or saw Emma and Henry interacting and she had tampered down those extra feelings she had begun to feel. No good could come from it, she had told herself.

In the end she hadn't been wrong exactly – except in the end it was she who was in the wrong.

Forcing thoughts of Emma from her head she began to get lost in her job.

By the end of the night Regina was exhausted and she knew that she would have at least one more night of this with Grant being sick. There was a reason why owners of restaurants weren't also the head chefs at their own places.

She had gotten a text from Henry to say he was going to bed about an hour earlier but she had a couple of things she needed to finish up before heading home. She escaped to her office as soon as she could and stopped immediately as she saw the vase of flowers on her desk. She hurried over and grabbed the card off of them, tearing into the envelope. When she saw it was merely flowers from her mother – a day early in honor of the anniversary of her opening her restaurant.

Regina had been so busy she had forgotten about it. Looking at the flowers now she realized she should have known they were from her mother – they were the kind of style her mom would choose (or at least one her secretary would have chosen). Definitely not what Emma would have picked out.

She scolded herself for being silly enough to believe the flowers would have been from Emma in the first place.

Looking at the card again she sighed, her mother apparently was coming to visit or so the 'See you soon' that was written there must indicate that she was. She loved her mother, but her mother had a way of making her feel not quite up to standards. And right now she wasn't sure it would be a good idea to have her mother visiting. She knew she would have to call her mother tomorrow and thank her for the flowers and get the details of how soon they would be seeing each other.

Her mom had essentially been living apart from her father for the past eight months – working on a major case on the West Coast. She had rented an apartment out there given the time investment she would be making. In those eight months, Regina had seen her mother just once. But she knew the case had ended a few weeks ago so it was only natural that her mother would be moving back. It wasn't as if she hadn't spoken to her mother in all that time either – sometimes Regina found it hard to get the woman off the phone when she would call.

She respected the work both of her parents did and she understood its importance, but neither was an avenue that Regina had ever wanted to go on. She always felt like that had hurt her mom more than it did her dad.

She settled down behind her desk to finish off her work although all she really wanted to do was go home, kiss Henry on the forehead and go to sleep.

….

Emma was on a roll. There was no other way to explain it. The past month had been really good for her business and her finances. While she was well-respected in her business circles for her sometimes uncanny ability to track people down, the last four weeks had been downright miraculous. She had returned more bounties in one month than the previous two combined – including one guy who had been on the run from the feds and the state.

She wasn't so foolish as to not contribute some of her good luck to the fact she had been putting in more hours as well. All she seemed to do was work and sleep lately. It was why she let Ruby drag her out on this random Thursday night for dinner. She was running a little behind, so Ruby was already waiting for her outside of the Chinese restaurant that Ruby had chosen. They went inside and got seated and ordered.

"You look tired," Ruby said.

"Thanks, you look great too," Emma replied.

"Are you sleeping at all?"

"Yeah," she said. "Just odd hours you know. Some days I'm sleeping regular at night, some days I go to bed at 3 a.m., sometimes 3 p.m. It's just catching up to me a bit."

"Please tell me you plan on going home after dinner to sleep and not out catching the bad guys?"

"No bad guys tonight unless I get a tip about something."

"Good. You need your beauty rest."

"Yes because I'm going on so many dates lately."

"Well you could always stop pining over Regina and go out with someone else as I'm positive you have options. You always have options. Or you could finally call Regina which is what I know you really want to do."

Emma had told Ruby about Regina a couple of days after Regina had made her tearful confession. At the time Ruby had asked her what she planned to do and she had responded she hadn't planned on doing anything. She was going to get on with her life and Regina could get on with hers. Moving on with life meant burying herself in work.

"I'm not going to call her," Emma said. It sounded hollow even in her own ears and from the doubtful expression she was getting from Ruby, her friend also didn't believe her. "There is no reason for me to call her," she added and then took a sip of her drink, hoping that Ruby would drop the subject.

"I am not saying you shouldn't still be upset with her," Ruby said. "But you really liked her. I mean you really, really liked her."

"I know," she said dejectedly. If she hadn't really like Regina she knew this wouldn't be hurting as bad as it was. She had a better understanding of why Regina had said what she said but it didn't mean she was happy about her saying it all. The problem was she was pretty sure she could get past that incident.

What she wasn't sure she could get past was her feelings for the other woman.

She would never have crossed that line – of that she was sure. She would never have hit on Regina as long as Regina had made it known she wasn't interested. Yet now Regina had admitted that there were some feelings there and Emma didn't know what to about that. She figured staying away was her best option.

When she allowed herself to think about the situation she wondered what would happen if she called Regina up.

"Earth to Emma," Ruby said.

Emma snapped out of it and saw the waiter had brought their food and she was effectively blocking him from putting the plate down in front of her. She apologized and made room for the plate, thanking him as she placed it down. At least now she could concentrate on eating, she thought as she grabbed her fork.

"So are you going to call her?"

Emma gave her an annoyed look.

"Sorry," Ruby said. "I will shut up and eat."

Emma took one bite and put her fork down.

"Is something wrong with the food?" Ruby asked.

"No," Emma shook her head. "It's fine. Look, it's not that I don't want to call her, I want to call her. I can admit that. It's been constantly in my thoughts. Here is the problem thought, let's say I call her up – what am I calling her up for?"

"What do you mean?"

"She and I were just friends before, so am I calling her to rebuild our friendship. Or since she has finally said out loud that she is bi, and that she has some feelings for me; am I calling her up not as a friend, but you know as like a date type person?"

"What do you want to call her up as?"

"It's not up to me," Emma replied. "She is clearly the one who has to set boundaries."

"Well that's bullshit," Ruby said. "If you want to ask her on a date ask her on a date. Since when did you shy away from stuff like that? If she rejects your date invite then decide if you want to say fuck it all and move on or if you think you can be friends with her."

Emma grabbed her fork once more and began eating. Maybe if she sustained the eating Ruby would drop the subject. Ruby too began to eat and then the conversation slowly turned to other things, much to Emma's relief. She needed to stop thinking about Regina she decided.

….

Regina walked into her building feeling insanely tired. Sydney was there to greet her.

"Good evening."

"Good night Sydney," she said, preparing to walk right by him.

"Um Regina …"

The way he said it made her stop.

"Is Henry ok?"

"Oh yes, he is fine. It's just that he isn't alone up there. Your mother is here, and of course she is on your list to be allowed up so Todd who was on duty earlier let her go up. I was dealing with another matter at the time and when I went to check on Henry there she was."

Great, Regina thought, she sends me flowers and then drops in for a surprise visit on a night where I left Henry home alone and am just now walking in smelling like I've been sweating over a stove all night.

"Thank you Sydney," she said and she made her way to the elevator. Even as she pushed the button to go up she wondered what lecture she would be getting.

Making it to her floor, she paused briefly outside of her own door trying to gather up the will to go in. Finally, she unlocked the door and entered and her mother was right there almost immediately.

"Goodness Regina you look positively ragged," Cora said.

"Hi mom," she said giving her smile that was all lip and no teeth. "I had to work in the kitchen today; I'm sure Henry told you all about it."

"Yes, yes he did," Cora said. "It's a good thing I decided to stop in with Henry here all by himself."

"I didn't have much choice," Regina said. "Besides Henry is getting to that age where he can be trusted to handle some things by himself. It wasn't as if I wasn't calling here every hour and didn't have Sydney checking up on him."

Cora didn't respond but Regina noticed she was continuously eyeing her like she wanted to say something.

"Well I put my stuff away in your guest room. I might as well stay for a couple of days or perhaps through the weekend. We have a lot to catch up on and I would like the chance to spend time with my daughter and grandson."

"That sounds great," Regina said. "I'm really tired as you can imagine so do you think we could postpone catching up until tomorrow."

"Of course, of course, you should definitely go straight to bed; you need your beauty rest. I will handle turning off all the lights and locking up."

"Thanks," she said giving her a hug and then going to her room. She sat on the edge of her bed to just have a few minutes of doing nothing before getting ready for bed. At least she wouldn't have to worry about leaving Henry home alone tomorrow night as her mother would watch him. Her parents doted on their only grandson every time they got the chance to see him and Henry loved his grandparents very much.

Her phone started to ring and she had to get it out of her purse to answer it – hoping her mother didn't hear it ringing or she was sure there would be some comment about it in the morning. She paused when she saw Emma's name come up.

She took a deep breath and answered. "Hello."

"Hi," Emma said. "Um, did I wake you?"

"No, I actually got home only a little while ago. We've had some people call in sick this week so I've been working in the kitchen the last couple of nights."

"So I called at a bad time then."

"No," Regina said quickly. "I'm glad you called."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure I was going to," Emma admitted.

"Well I'm glad you did."

Emma didn't say anything in response, and while Regina was sure their connection hadn't been dropped, she found she didn't know what to say to the other woman.

"Look, I don't know that we can just start up and be friends again," Emma said finally.

Pause.

"I … I understand," Regina said. She wondered why Emma was even bothering to call to tell her this.

"It's just that …" Emma trailed off and went silent again.

"You don't have to explain," Regina said. "I do understand. What I did, what I said … I was completely in the wrong and you have every right …"

"Willyougoonadatewithme?" Emma blurted out.

"What?" Regina said, not sure she understood the super-speed question.

"I asked you if you wanted to go on a date with me."

"Oh."

Regina was not expecting the question, especially after the way the conversation started.

"I know, it's a stupid idea," Emma said backing off. "I was just thinking that … well you know I am attracted to you and while I swear I would never have done anything about that while we were friends, things have changed now. And I thought maybe we could try going on a date."

"Ok," Regina.

"Ok, as in you want to go on a date?"

"Yes," Regina replied. "It's a date."

"Good," Emma said and Regina could hear the change in tone – Emma's voice no longer sounding as tense as it had. "Do you want to go out Saturday night?"

"Can I get back to you about that tomorrow? I don't know if I will have enough staff to man the kitchen."

"Of course. Just send me a text or call."

"I will."

"I should let you go so you can get some sleep. Good night."

"Good night Emma."

She hung up the phone and exhaled. A date. With Emma. She hadn't been on a date with a woman since Danielle. And Saturday was only two days away. And her mother was in town. Suddenly she felt too on edge to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

On Friday Regina made sure that Grant was going to be at work and well enough to cook on Saturday. After ascertaining that her mother was indeed staying through the weekend she asked her to watch Henry on Saturday night. It was a conversation that Regina hadn't looked forward to as her mother had a way of making her feel like she was on the witness stand being grilled.

"Who is this friend you are going out with?" Cora asked. There was no way Regina was going to tell her mother that this was a date, at least not to start with.

"It's Emma, I told you about her."

"Oh yes, the one who saved you and Henry at the restaurant," she said. "I would very much like to meet her and give her my appreciation for her bravery."

"Um … that would be nice of you, but maybe another time," Regina said. "I didn't tell her you were in town and I wouldn't want to ambush her."

"There is a simple way to deal with that, text her and let her know I am here and I would like to meet her."

Regina tried to think of another response, but her mother was staring her down. "I haven't even told her I am free to go out on Saturday because I wanted to speak with you first," Regina said. "Let's just hold off on until I can speak to her, ok?"

Cora gave her a look that didn't exactly make her think that it was ok. She had once heard another attorney describe her mother as "the person who would take over guarding the pearly gates for St. Peter because there was no way you were getting through her without telling the truth."

It may have been the best way to describe her that Regina had ever heard.

"Is there a reason you don't want me meeting this young woman?" Cora asked and Regina knew this was not going to end in her favor. "You have spoken very highly of her in the past."

"I speak highly of her because she deserves to be spoken highly of. It's just that … look she and I had a sort of falling out a while back and this is the first time I'm going to spend time with her since that happened."

"What did you have a falling out over?"

"Stephen," she said hoping that would be the end of it. Stephen was not a topic her mother wanted to talk about either. When she and Stephen were getting divorced her mother had tried to talk her into holding off, taking some time to evaluate her position. It's not that Cora particularly cared for Stephen but she didn't like the idea of Regina being a divorced single mom either.

Sometimes Regina had to remind herself that her mother did love her unconditionally and that was one of those times.

The moment Regina had told her mother about Stephen saying Henry wasn't his son however Cora was done with him for good. She had offered to draw up the papers to dissolve the adoption she was so mad.

"I hope Emma was counseling you to stay away from him," Cora commented.

Since it wasn't a question Regina saw no reason to say anything in return, which was a mistake.

"So what was it then?" Cora asked. "Why did you two have a row over Stephen?"

Her mother did not know when to let up.

"She didn't think that I should have been letting Stephen back into my life."

"Very sensible of her. See, I simply must meet her."

"I will see if she is ok with that then," Regina replied.

"See, now all of that for the same result," Cora said. "Honestly Regina sometimes I think you purposely make things hard."

That was the conversation they had that morning before Regina went to work. Now that she had both her mother and Grant on board for Saturday night she called Emma.

"Hi," Emma answered.

"Hi," Regina replied. "So I'm free for Saturday."

"Great," Emma said. "I was worried you would have to work."

"Nope, I have the night free."

"And you have someone to watch Henry?"

"Yes," Regina said. "My mother is actually in town and she is going to watch him for the evening."

"Your mom?"

"Yes, she's staying with me through the weekend and then back home to dad."

"If you want to spend time with her, we can reschedule our date."

"No. I am sure she will give me enough quality time before she leaves. Somehow it feels like she already has."

"How critical has she been?"

Regina had told Emma of her mother and she was again impressed that Emma not only listened well but she picked up on things that may seem small in passing but which were really more.

"Not exactly critical. She does however want to meet you."

"Excuse me?"

"She wants to meet you and say thank you for saving me and Henry that night we met," Regina explained.

"Oh. Well I guess that's ok. I can meet her when I come to pick you up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. She wouldn't be the first parent I met prior to going on a date, although I admit it's been a long while."

"About that. Um … I haven't told her we were going on a date yet. I told her I was going out with a friend. I'm going to though," Regina said quickly, not wanting Emma to think otherwise. "It's just that my mom can be a little … overbearing at times and as soon as I tell her it's a date she's going to interrogate me and after the week I've had, I wasn't up for that this morning."

"You don't have tell her if it makes you that uncomfortable. We can stick with the friend thing when I meet her."

Regina paused, considering the offer. "No," she responded. "We're going on a date and she will have to deal with it."

There was another pause, this time from Emma. "Is your mom part of the reason why you aren't really open about your sexuality?"

Regina wasn't sure how to answer that question and she zoned out a moment thinking of it, that she almost missed Emma apologizing for asking it.

"It's ok," Regina said. "My parents know I am bisexual. I think they have chosen to ignore it much like I did when I married Stephen. They were never not supportive of me when I was dating Danielle, but it was more like the feeling I got whenever I had Danielle with me when I was at my parents. It's kind of hard to explain. It's like they were waiting to see where it was actually going as far as a relationship went. When I asked for my grandmother's ring to ask Danielle to marry me, there was no hesitation in giving it to me. They were nice to Danielle, but not warm to her if that makes any sense."

"It does. Should I expect the same thing?"

"I don't know," Regina said. "Things are different now. I've been married and divorced. I have a kid. I'm not the same person as I was back then and maybe that will make a difference. Even if it doesn't, it doesn't change the fact that we are going to go on a date."

"Good. And don't worry, parents love me."

…..

Regina put off telling her mother until she couldn't hold off any longer. She was preparing for the date and her mother commented that she seemed nervous. She was sitting at her vanity at the time with her mother in the background where Regina could see her clearly in the mirror. She turned toward her.

"I am little nervous," she admitted. "A lot nervous actually."

"Whatever for? Is this because of the falling out you had with Emma?"

"No, although I wonder how much that will play into the evening. I'm nervous because I'm not going out with Emma because we're just friends. I'm going on a date with Emma. It's a first date with her."

"So Emma is also bisexual."

"She's a lesbian. And before you ask, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to express any kind of disapproval. I like Emma. I like her a lot. In a short amount of time she's become special to me and I've already messed that up once so I don't want it to happen again," she said.

"And you think somehow I would mess that up?" Cora said. "Why ever would you think that for? Did I ever have an unkind word to say to Danielle when you were seeing her?"

"No. You are too polite for that," Regina said. "But there is a difference in not being rude to a person and making them feel welcome."

"Did Danielle say she felt unwelcome in my presence?"

Regina shook her head no. "It's not about how you made Danielle feel, it's how you made me feel when I was with her. When Danielle broke up with me you said it was for the best. When I wanted to divorce Stephen you told me to hold on and think about it and do every thing I could to save my marriage."

"You were married to Stephen, you weren't married to Danielle," Cora said. "Your break up with Danielle was her choice, not yours. The divorce was your choice so of course I would counsel you to make sure you were making the right decision. If I were a divorce lawyer I would give the same advice to my clients – to make sure this is what they wanted."

"I'm your daughter, not a client."

"I know that. My point is if that is the beset advice I can give a client, why wouldn't I also give it to my daughter?"

"We've never talked about it," Regina said. "Me being bisexual. I told you I was and then we never talked about it. You ask me a hundred questions about every little thing I do, but when I told you that I was attracted to men and women you didn't ask me a single thing. Why?"

"Who my daughter has sexual relations with isn't exactly a conversation that I feel I need to be a part of?"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about. It goes beyond who I am having sex with. Does it bother you that much I'm this way?"

Cora didn't say anything immediately. It was rare that she saw her mother at a loss for words and as it stretched on, she turned back to the mirror to continue getting ready. She wasn't going to let her mother ruin her evening.

"When you told your father and I that you were bisexual, I admit that it was surprising. I wondered how it was that I didn't see it. I'm a mother and mothers are supposed to know things about their children," Cora said. "You stood there and made this declaration that you were this way and at the time you exuded such strength that I saw this spark in you, the spark I once thought would make you an excellent lawyer. You said it with such confidence as if daring your father or I to say one negative thing because if we had you were prepared for a fight. So I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't feel it would be welcome for me to ask any questions. I was afraid that by asking questions you would take it as a slight and I didn't want to offend you, not in that moment. Later, well later became too late. I'm not going to stand here and pretend that I understand it completely because I don't. And maybe I can't ever fully understand because I am not bisexual, but it doesn't change how I feel about you."

She walked over to Regina and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you honey. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel I didn't."

"I know you love me," she replied. "Sometimes I guess I just need to hear you say it."

"Anytime my darling daughter, anytime you need to hear it, I will be here to say it," she said. "Now about this date, is that really what you are going to wear on a first date?"


	13. Chapter 13

Emma was surprised when Regina didn't answer the door, but she recovered quickly as Cora introduced herself.

"I wanted to thank you for protecting my daughter and grandson that night at the restaurant," Cora said shaking Emma's hand. "I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn't been there."

Emma noticed Regina's mother giving her an appraising look. When Regina had told her that she would be meeting her mom Emma hadn't been worried but now that she was face-to-face with her she felt her nerves creeping in.

"Thank you," Emma replied. "I felt kind of bad about the whole thing since I'm the reason he was there and why he took off toward the kitchen like he did. But then again if it didn't happen I wouldn't have met Regina and Henry."

"You didn't force that man to hold a knife to Regina," Cora said. "Right or wrong, we all make our own choices in this world. He is the one who chose a violent path that evening, not you."

Emma could see the resemblance to Regina in this woman, but this woman seemed to have a harder edge to her. She of course knew what Cora did for a living and Emma wondered if being an attorney and working on the cases she did had made her hard or if it was something that came natural to her.

"I'm just glad Regina didn't get hurt," Emma said. "She really held her own with him. She got away from him and that didn't have anything to do with me. I was there to chase him down."

"We insisted she take self-defense courses at a young age," Cora said. "I'm sure she told you that she traveled a lot as a kid. We tried to minimize it as much as possible but it wasn't always possible so we wanted to instill in her the confidence to defend herself."

"Well she certainly did that night."

"Emma."

She looked over at Regina entered, and while she had seen Regina dressed nicely before, somehow this was different. It suddenly occurred to her that she was taking this woman on a date. Yes, her mind knew that, but somehow it wasn't quite registering until this moment.

"Hi," Emma managed to say. "You… you look great."

"She does, doesn't she?" Cora said smiling at her daughter. She had convinced Regina to change into the dress she was now wearing. Earlier she had been wearing a skirt and top that looked a little too "business" for Cora's taste. She was after all going on a date, Cora had said, so she should dress like it.

"Thank you," Regina smiled.

"Hey Emma!" said Henry who came out behind Regina and gave her a hug.

"Hey kid," Emma said. "What game currently has your attention?"

"Mom wouldn't let me get the latest Call of Duty," he said. "So I've been played Tomb Raider, which isn't as fun."

"Oh come on, women characters kick ass," Emma said. "They should make more video games with women."

"If you two are done with your discussion of fake people, then perhaps we can get going," Regina said.

"Sorry kid, duty calls."

"Duty?" Regina asked.

"You know what I mean," Emma said. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," Regina said.

They took the elevator down, neither woman saying anything. Once they were downstairs, Emma flagged them down a cab and gave the driver directions.

"Where are we going?"

"Now what would be the fun in telling you that?" Emma smiled.

Regina returned the smile, and also took the time to appraise what Emma was wearing. She had on a pair of dress pants on and a long sleeved buttoned up shirt that had a low cut to it, which Regina had glanced at when she had first come out to greet Emma.

Regina was nervous but trying not to make it known. She had spent most of the day trying to convince herself that this was nothing more than her and Emma hanging out as friends. She had tried not to think of Danielle, but had failed at that. It was hard not to think of her as she was the last experience Regina had with going out with a woman.

"Are you going to be this quiet all night?" Emma asked, and Regina noticed that several minutes had passed.

"Sorry," she said. "Lost in thought."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Regina said, giving what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Have you had any good cases lately?"

"Good cases, do you think there are such things?" Emma said laughing. "I mean you know what I do."

"I guess I do," Regina said.

"Actually there was this one case," Emma began. She told Regina how she was looking for this guy who jump bail and ended up catching him while she was having tea with the man's grandmother. "I'm telling you the look on his face when his granny starts beating him with her newspaper was priceless. Although my favorite part might have been when she ordered him to go with me and not cause me any problems and I was to call her to let her know if he behaved himself. He was probably the most well-behaved perp I have ever tracked down after that happened."

Regina laughed, "Why am I not surprised that you charmed some little old lady into inviting you into her home for tea while you are looking for her felon grandson."

"I told you, parents love me."

"I suppose I will find that out when you return me home and speak to my mother."

"I take it your mom had no objections to us going out?"

"None. She was surprisingly understanding. We had a talk about how we never have talked about my sexuality."

"I thought you said that your parents knew you were bi."

"They do," Regina said. "But my mother in particular has always asked me about seemingly every aspect of my life and that was one thing she never asked about. I took that as disapproval. When we were talking earlier she said it had nothing to do with disapproval. Instead, she said it was the way I told them, that it was powerful and I didn't seem like I wanted questions so they didn't ask. She said I showed how strong I was."

Emma noticed the hesitation in Regina's voice when she said that last part.

"Don't you believe that, that you are strong?" Emma asked.

"No," Regina said and Emma detected the disbelief in her voice this time.

Emma put a hand on Regina's. "You are so strong," Emma said. "The first time I met you, you amazed me. A lot of people in that situation would have froze but you didn't. You are such a strong person. It's one of the things that attracted me to you."

"So you are saying there is more than one?" Regina smiled.

"Most definitely."

They arrived at their destination – another smaller restaurant that Emma had been to before. Although she admitted that it was only the one time so she couldn't offer any recommendations to Regina. Not that Regina needed any help as she studied the menu before ordering.

"I am curious to taste the spices," Regina said after ordering.

"Can you like break down any dish into its individual parts?"

"I wouldn't say I can do it all the time or that I'm always right when I do it, but I do like to try it every time," she admitted. "I think to be a chef you have to love food, not just the making of it or creating it, but tasting it, experiencing it. I have never shied away from trying food. I've tasted a lot of bad but also a lot of good."

"I hope this one is a good one. I got to tell you that I felt a lot of pressure in deciding where to eat."

"You shouldn't," Regina said. "I may be a chef but I'm not a food critic."

"Still you have to admit that there is some pressure there in picking a place," Emma said.

"Well maybe a little."

Their food came and they chatted throughout the meal. Regina shared her food with Emma – trying to show her how she tasted food in order to determine what was in it. Emma didn't do very well at it, but they both laughed at the effort.

Their dinner came to an end and as they were walking out, Emma took Regina's hand in hers as she neared the curb to hail a cab.

"Where are we going next?"

"Do you want the truth?"

"Preferably."

"I have no idea," Emma said as the cab pulled up and she held the door open for Regina, who paused a moment. Emma shrugged, "I wasn't even sure you would go out on a date with me, and then there was the whole stress over where to go eat, I didn't plan out the rest of the evening."

Regina slid into the back seat and Emma followed.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

Regina looked at Emma, "What's your address?"

This time it was Emma's turn to pause and then she gave the address to the driver.

"Um … I wasn't expecting you to um … well my apartment isn't like spotless and well … I mean if you wanted to go do something else."

"You're cute when you are nervous," Regina said to her. "If you aren't comfortable having me at your place …"

"No, it's not that…"

"Good," Regina interrupted. "I thought we could go someplace private and talk. With my mother in town, my place is definitely out unless you feel like being placed on the witness stand and being interrogated about everything – no matter how embarrassing."

"My place probably is better," Emma said.

Even as she said it, she tried not to let out an obvious exhale. It was true she hadn't thought much beyond the dinner, but taking Regina back to her place was not how she expected the evening to go. She figured they would go do something mundane – or something Regina wanted to do. She cursed herself for not having a better plan.

So far the evening appeared to be going well. Regina didn't seem to take offense at her taking her hand earlier and Emma wondered – not for the first time – how much touching they would do. She had figured she would at the very least give Regina a kiss at the end of the date, but now that they were going to her place she wondered if Regina had something else in mind.

Stop it, her mind told her. Regina had said "talk" and that is all Emma should expect. Although Regina was wearing the proverbial "little black dress," which made it hard for Emma to keep her thoughts totally innocent. She did a mental walkthrough of her place and hoped she hadn't left anything out that would be embarrassing or left any dirty dishes in plain view.

They arrived and Emma paid the driver and held the door open for Regina once more. This time she didn't take her hand as she was afraid her palm was sweaty from nerves and she had to fish out her keys to get in. Emma liked where she lived. It wasn't high class like Regina's building, but it was nice all the same. All rent in New York was ridiculous in her mind, but her place was rent-controlled so it was affordable for her. She like the building superintendent –having helped him navigate the court system when his nephew got in trouble got her in his good graces. Now if anything ever went wrong at her place he was very attentive to seeing it get done.

They rode the elevator up to the fourth floor where she lived and Emma apologized again if her place wasn't exactly spotless. She unlocked the door and went in to turn on the light before returning to hold the door fully open for Regina to enter.

"You have a nice place," Regina said after she had come in and looked around the room.

"I like to think so," Emma said. "Do you want sit? Can I get you something to drink?"

Regina took a seat on the couch. "Maybe later on that drink."

"Oh, ok," Emma said still standing.

"Are you going to sit down?"

"What? Um … yeah."

"You seem nervous, are you sure it's ok that I am here?" Regina asked.

"No it's fine. I just … I don't know, I guess …you and I are from different worlds and now it's like you are in my world and … what if you don't like it."

"I like you," Regina said. "Shouldn't that be all that matters?"

"It should but it doesn't always work that way," Emma countered. "Look, there is probably something I should have told you before, but it's not something I tell people but if we are going to see each other like this I felt I should tell you because while we are only on our first date, we already know each other and I just want to be fair to you."

She could see an expression of confusion on Regina's face.

"You once asked me how I got into the work I do," Emma said. "I wasn't lying when I said it was because I wanted to get the people who thought they could skirt the law. There was a little more to it than that."

She stood up and began to pace, feeling less confined now that she was up on her feet. Then she stopped in front of Regina who now looked worried. "I have a record. I was in prison," she said. "I got mixed up with his guy when I was 17 and we stole stuff. At first it was like shoplifting here and there and then it sort of escalated. Then one day he um took off and left me holding a bag of stolen goods and I got caught. I was sentenced to two years but I got out after 15 months due to good behavior. I guess you can say I've been looking for the guy ever since."

Her nervousness on full display, she kept her eyes on Regina, trying to figure out how she was going to react. The silence crept in and Regina looked away from her and Emma knew she had blown it.

Regina looked back at her. "This guy, you've never been able to find him?"

"No," Emma said. "I suspect he's been moving around a lot and changing his name. The closest I came was in Chicago a few years back."

Regina stood and Emma thought she was going to leave, but instead Regina took her hand and led her back to the couch to sit down. Regina kept a hold of her hand. "We all have made mistakes in our lives; you know I have. If you think that you telling me this was going change anything, you are wrong. You were a kid and you used bad judgment and trusted the wrong person. It doesn't make you a bad person."

"I really want to kiss you right now," Emma said.

Regina laughed. When she stopped, she leaned over and Emma met her part way. Their lips touched each other briefly at first, but on the second one Emma deepened the contact and the second turned into a third, fourth and fifth before Regina pulled back.

"Wow," Emma said.


	14. Chapter 14

Regina rode up the elevator to her home, a smile still gracing her features. She had left Emma's, taking a cab home alone despite Emma saying she didn't mind riding with her and then back to her own place. Regina appreciated the offer, but pointed out that it was a little silly seeing as Emma was at her own home.

After their initial kisses on the couch they had settled down and talked for a long time. It was for the most part a relaxed conversation but there were a few times when it got serious.

_"So if you find this guy what are you going to do?" Regina asked when Emma had told her a little more about the things she had done. For the most part it was as Emma had described it initially – a bunch of petty theft and shoplifting, until this Neal talked her into some bigger scores, the last one ending in her arrest._

_"I've asked myself that same question a lot and the answer is I don't really know," she said. "It's not as if he is totally to blame, I made the decision to steal so I can't put that on him. But he did betray me and as a con artist he has betrayed others. I guess I will see where he is wanted at the most – the one that would get him the most time – and take him there."_

_"Do you think you can forgive him?"_

_"I'm not that good of a person."_

_"I think you are. You have apparently forgiving me, or else we wouldn't be sitting here now."_

_"Different circumstances," Emma said._

_"Have you forgiven me?" Regina asked._

_"Yeah, but I guess there are still things I don't understand."_

_"Such as?"_

_"You were dropping hints that you weren't wanting to date or were too busy for a relationship. That was intentional right?"_

_"Some of it was, some of it was the truth too," Regina said. "I saw the way you were looking at me and I could tell you were interested. I didn't want to go down that route with you so I tried to put you off."_

_Emma readjusted how she was sitting, tucking her leg underneath her. "Then why are we here? What made you change your mind?"_

_It took a moment for Regina to gather her thoughts. It's not as if she hadn't expected this to come up – she had. Still now that it was here, she found the answer escaped her._

_"I like you. I think I liked you since I went to the hospital and saw you. You were so kind to Henry and then that night on your date with my son, I found you easy to talk to. You were different than most people I know. You were intriguing to me," she said._

_"Not sure anyone has ever said I was intriguing," Emma said._

_"You are to me. Maybe it's because we have such different backgrounds," Regina said. "I've met a lot of people in my life – many of them totally forgettable – but not you."_

_"Ok, I'll buy it. I'm pretty unforgettable," Emma smiled. "Still doesn't explain what changed your mind."_

_"I didn't want to lose you."_

_Emma's expression conveyed her confusion. "What do you mean by that?"_

_"I like having you in my life," Regina said. "I get that friendship isn't a possibility any longer. I wanted to give this a try because I do like you and I'm attracted to you, and I think you are worth the risk."_

_"Risk?"_

_"Yes, risk," she replied. "It's always a risk when you put yourself out there with another person. I've been burned by it before, clearly."_

_"Stephen, were you getting back together with him?"_

_"No!" Regina said. "That would never happen."_

_"Then why were you spending all your time with him?"_

_"Henry," she answered. "I didn't want to give up on the idea that Henry could have a relationship with his father. I felt like I had to do anything to give that a chance. As it turned out Stephen had his own motives for spending time with Henry – which came to a head that night. Stephen had run into some financial issues – issues which could easily be resolved if he didn't have to pay me child support and if he had the combined finances of when we were married. He thought he would rekindle things with me and all his problems would go away."_

_"Ouch."_

_"Exactly."_

_"How did you find out about it?"_

_"Katherine. She was never a fan of Stephen's and since we all run in the same circles socially, she heard some whisperings and looked into it. She then turned around and told me and I confronted him. We argued – loudly – and then you showed up."_

_"When Henry called me, all I could think of was getting to you," Emma said. "I had to make sure you were safe."_

_"I appreciate it," Regina said, putting a hand on Emma's. "And I'm sorry for how things ended that night."_

_"I know," Emma said. "It's done, it's over with. We're good. But remind me to thank Katherine the next time I see her for her keeping an eye on you."_

_"I'll pass along the message."_

_Emma moved in for another kiss, which Regina accepted and returned._

Regina unlocked the door to her home and was unsurprised when her mother was there immediately.

"Well?" Cora asked.

Regina laughed, "I don't think you've asked me about a date since I was in school."

"I'm not sure you've told me you were going on a date since you were in school," Cora countered. "So are you going to fill me in or not?"

"We had a good time."

"Is that it?"

"That's all I feel like telling my mother," Regina said moving past her. "Good night."

….

Emma sat in her office reviewing some files unable to keep a smile off of her face. Last night's date with Regina had gone better than she could have dreamed of. Every time she thought about kissing Regina, she would smile. Her lips were so soft that Emma was almost afraid to kiss too hard. The last time they kissed Emma hadn't wanted to stop, but she understood that Regina wasn't ready for more than kissing.

She had texted Regina earlier to just say good morning and had gotten the same in response almost immediately. It made her feel energized to get such a quick response.

Regina had said she was spending the day with Henry and her mother, so Emma decided to spend her day doing some work on her own personal case. Neal was out there somewhere and she was sure that she was going to find him sooner rather than later. She was going to make him pay.

She was expecting some information from a contact some time hopefully soon. Neal had a habit of swinging into Tallahassee every few years. He was always talking about taking her there, but of course they never made it. It took her awhile to even think about the connection to Tallahassee so she started taking trips there and cultivating resources in hopes of finding him.

There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to Neal's trips back there so she hadn't found a way to track when he would be there. But this new source of hers was sure that Neal was visiting some of the same places each time he was there and that was what she was hoping for – a place to start looking for him.

Telling Regina about it could have gone badly, very badly. When Regina's reaction was positive, Emma very nearly cried. Given Regina's background she could have easily have decided that an ex-con was not someone she wanted to associate with. It was why she decided to tell Regina sooner rather than later. She was afraid if she waited and got invested in a relationship with Regina only to tell her later that it would hurt worse if Regina rejected her for it.

A relationship – she could actually picture it in her mind now, a relationship with Regina. Again the smile came to her lips.


	15. Chapter 15

"As my dearest friend I must simply insist you share a little bit more than you have been," Katherine said. "You and Emma have been dating for three months and I have gotten only the barest of details. This is simply unacceptable."

Regina and Katherine were sitting down for a lunch at one of their favorite places to escape to. Regina knew the owner and got along well with him as it was he who gave her the first head chef job she had ever gotten. When she was hired he had told her that she was going places and he wouldn't be surprised on the day that she opened her own restaurant. When she left to do so there were no hard feelings on his part and he had even attended the opening of her place.

Regina liked coming back here because she was always curious about their menu changes and the current head chef was a friend of hers whom she had recommended to the owner.

"I don't really know what you want me to say. It's been going well."

"Yes, so you have told me but that doesn't really tell me any anything. As your best friend I am supposed to get all the details. I mean I had to practically drag it out of you that you two has sex and I still have no idea if it was good sex or not."

Regina looked around them hoping no one had heard that. Katherine didn't always know the meaning of the word discreet.

"I have no complaints in that department," Regina said as she silently wished that would be the last of that part of any discussion of her relationship with Emma.

"No complaints isn't exactly a rousing endorsement."

Clearly Katherine wasn't going to let this go. Regina looked around her again to make sure there weren't any ears listening.

"The sex has been …," she paused trying to think of the best word to use. "Thrilling."

"Ooh, thrilling," Katherine said smiling. "So Emma has some skills?"

"And she isn't afraid to use those skills," Regina said. She knew she shouldn't encourage Katherine in any way, but the truth was the sex with Emma had been nothing short of extremely satisfying. She had been nervous their first time but Emma seemed to sense that and she went slow and she was gentle. Since then – well Regina wasn't unskilled either and the two women seemed to know what the other one would like.

"It is really good to see you smiling again," Katherine said.

"It's good to feel happy again," Regina said.

"How has Henry been with you and Emma dating?"

The day after her first date with Emma, Regina had sat Henry down and explained things to him the best she could. He was still a kid so she was sure he didn't actually understand everything she said, but he said he was ok with her seeing Emma in that way.

"Sometimes I wonder if she is dating me or being best friends with Henry. He adores her, and she, well, she treats him better than I could ever hope for."

"Speaking of Henry," Katherine said, as she reached down and pulled out an envelope from her purse. She handed it over to Regina. This was the real reason why they were getting together today.

"He signed them?" Regina said.

"Yes."

"And he didn't say anything?"

"Nothing. We sat down. I read the papers even as he had a copy in front of him. His attorney explained to him that all the legalese meant he was giving up all rights to Henry from that moment on and he picked up his pen, signed it, slid the papers over to his attorney and then got up and left."

Regina sighed. Despite all that had happened she still had mixed feelings about taking this action. It was what Henry said he wanted and she could only hope that he one day didn't change his mind. For herself, she was resigned to the idea that the best thing for her was to have no contact with Stephen.

She put away her copies of the paper in her purse.

"Thank you for handling that for me," Regina said.

"I'm sorry it came to that," Katherine said. "As much as I dislike Stephen I know this wasn't an easy choice for you to make but for what it is worth I think you made the right decision."

"I guess time will tell."

"On to better topics," Katherine said. "Have you talked to Emma about the trip to the Hamptons?"

"Yes, and she said it would probably depend on her work if she can make it or not."

"Can't she just take time off?"

Regina had thought the same thing, but she hadn't pressed Emma on it. In fact she felt that there was a bit of hesitation on Emma's part when she had invited her to come with her and Henry for a weekend in the Hamptons with Katherine and her husband. It was the first time since they began dating that she had sensed that Emma was being hesitant about anything.

And Regina was at a loss as to why.

"I am sure if she can take the time off, she will," Regina said, even though she wasn't sure that was the truth.

…

Emma was bored.

She was sitting on her couch with the TV on even though she wasn't actually watching it. She couldn't remember the last time she had a day where she literally had nothing to do. She didn't have any cases that were nearing completion or that she could actively work on. She was all caught up on any paper work she had to do. Normally she might spend a day like this with Regina but her girlfriend was in the Hamptons with friends. Regina had invited her to attend, even gave her a month's notice of the weekend trip but Emma had lied to her and told her she was too busy with work to go. She felt bad about the lie, but she figured it was better than having a conversation with Regina about why she didn't want to go.

The idea of staying an entire weekend in the company of people who were rich enough to have homes in the Hamptons was terrifying for her because she figured it would be an entire weekend of her hanging out with Henry as he would be the only one who she could talk to. Not that she would have minded hanging out with Henry, but she didn't want Regina viewing her as someone who couldn't even carry on a conversation with people.

The result had been Emma making up an urgent job so that she couldn't go with Regina. Now she was bored and kind of wishing she was with Regina right now. She was sure if she had went though that Regina would begin to see her shortcomings and now that they were officially dating, Emma didn't want Regina looking at her with regret.

Turning off the TV she decided to go to the bar and see what Ruby was up to.

…

Regina tried not to look at her phone, but she couldn't help it. She had called Emma the night before and was a little concerned as she could tell Emma had been drinking. Emma had told her that she had gone down to the bar that Ruby owned and had a couple of beers. Regina wondered why she had done that when she had been too busy to come to the Hamptons with her and Henry. She hadn't questioned Emma about it, but when she called Emma that morning she hadn't gotten an answer and while she had left a message asking Emma to call her, she hadn't gotten a return call. She had gotten a text message saying that Emma was in the midst of a situation as someone had apparently jumped bail the night before. Knowing more about her job Regina knew that Emma needed to move quickly when things like this happened.

Still Regina had some lingering doubts about all of this. When Emma told that she couldn't make the trip, Regina had been disappointed as she had been looking forward to getting out of town with Henry and spending time with Emma outside of the city. There were places in the Hamptons that she had wanted to show Emma.

She had the feeling from the beginning that Emma wasn't keen on going and when she finally confirmed that she couldn't come Regina wasn't surprised by it. But she couldn't figure out why Emma was against going away and now Regina realized she was probably going to have ask Emma about it.

Their relationship, once it got started, had been going smoothly up to this point. While both women were busy they found time to spend with each other, making it a priority to see each other.

Regina hadn't been lying to Katherine – it felt good to be happy again. And that happiness had all to do with Emma.

She didn't want it to slip away either.

…

Emma swore as she went running down the sidewalk after her prey. She hated it when they ran, which was funny since a majority of them would run. This guy was not someone she could let escape her. He was wanted on an attempted murder charge in addition to several felony drug charges. Everything on his rap sheet showed he was someone accustomed to violence. It had been a while since she had someone like this in her sights. It made her cautious in approaching him and that caution allowed him to get the head start on her.

Her breath was heavy in her ears as she ran. She saw him take a sharp right in between two alleys and she slowed up to take a peek into the alley before following. As she did, he grabbed her – he had been waiting for her to do just that. He had a hold of her shirt and pulled her around, slamming her into the wall. The breath left her for a second, but she didn't lose focus breaking his hold on her and spinning out of the way to put a little room between them. One thing she learned early on, if you have to engage a perp who was obviously stronger than you – you kept your distance as much as you could.

"I don't suppose you would consider coming in quietly," she said smiling.

He laughed at her and lunged at her. She expected the move and she sidestepped and let his momentum carry him by her. By the death look he gave her, she could tell he didn't appreciate it and he certainly wasn't looking to merely get away at this point. He was considered to be armed and dangerous but she didn't see where he had a gun, although he had a jacket on which could easily be concealing it.

He came at her again and again she used his momentum against him, grabbing his arm and slamming him against the wall and keeping his arm in an outstretched locked position. This guy had strength though and was able to force the issue and Emma found she was now in a bad position as he used his body to drive her into the ground. Not only did the breath leave her, but her head slammed into the ground. She raised her head as he started to get off of her and punched her to keep her down. Again her head hit the ground, but she was able to remain conscious as she reached into her coat. He had gotten to his feet and was standing over her with a smile on his face. She watched as he reached inside his coat and pulled out a gun which he was now pointing at her.

"Stupid bitch," he spat down at her.

She felt the metal device in her hand and quickly freed it, jamming it into his leg on full charge. The taser did its job as she kept it pressed against him. He dropped the gun and collapsed next to her, still conscious but reeling form the effects of it. She rolled over and by some miracle managed to get him turned over onto his belly and cuffed him. As soon as that was done she took a seat trying to get her own head to clear. Reaching for her phone she called the cops. Normally she would deliver her own perps to a station nearby but she knew she was in no shape right now to do it.

Once she made the call, she got to her feet, having to use the wall to steady herself. She looked down at her phone. She had a missed call from Regina and a text message.

"Are you ok?" the text message said.

Emma almost laughed.

It took a while for the cops to get there and once they got there she released the suspect into their custody assured they had her info so she could complete the paperwork later on the apprehension. One of the cops made a comment about her eye which she had already felt swelling up and she could only imagine what she looked like.

Her phone rang again and she looked down – it was Regina. She hit ignore and began making her way to her car.

It was the message that Regina left her that made Emma call her when she got home even though by that time her eye was throbbing. Getting an ice pack out of her freezer, she put it on her eye as she dialed Regina.

"Emma, are you ok?" Regina asked. She had the same urgency in her voice that she had in her voicemail.

"I've had better days," Emma replied.

"What's wrong?"

Emma told her the story which came out of her slowly. Her head was beginning to hurt and she was only part way through the story when Regina stopped her.

"Emma I think you need to go to the hospital," Regina said. "I don't know what happened, but your voice is slurring and you don't sound like yourself."

"I'm ok," she said even though she didn't feel like it. "Where was I?"

"Emma listen to me, you are clearly not ok. I would feel better if you would go to the hospital. Just hang up and call for an ambulance."

"I'm not going to the hospital," she said. "I'm fine. This is what I do. It's messy sometimes but this is my life. Sorry I don't have some white collar job that would fit in with you and your friends."

"What are you talking about?" Regina said.

"I'm talking bout trips to the Hamptons and fancy dinners. That's not me," Emma said, her voice slurring to the point where even she heard it. "If you don't like it well I can't change who I am."

"Emma …"

"I got to go."

She hung up the phone and laid down on the couch.

…

The pounding was making her head hurt even more. She wished it would stop and then suddenly it did and she thought finally something is going right. Then she felt someone shaking her, which made her head hurt worse, and she realized someone was calling her name. She wondered if it was Regina.

Opening the one eye that would open she saw a worried looking Ruby there.

"Oh thank God you aren't dead," Ruby said.

"Dead?"

"Yeah dead. Regina called the bar in a panic. I couldn't get her to calm down until I promised to rush over here and check on you. You look like shit."

"Don't feel good," she said.

"I can see that. Can you get to your feet?"

She sat up, immediately regretting it, but she gritted her teeth and stood.

"Good," Ruby said. "Now where are your car keys?"

"Where we going?"

"To the hospital."


	16. Chapter 16

Emma fought through the grogginess she was feeling to open her eyes – well, open the one eye. She groaned a little as she started to sit up and then thought better of it and let her head sink into the pillow once more.

She was going to let her eye close so she could drift back to sleep when she registered that someone had touched her hand. Focusing her eye on who it was, she saw a very worried looking Regina sitting there at her bedside. She wanted to say something – do something to get Regina not to look at her with such concern, but she felt sleep pulling her under once again.

"I think I hit my head," Emma managed to say.

"Yes," Regina said. She gave Emma's hand a squeeze. "You have a rather severe concussion."

"Oh," Emma said.

She wanted to say something else, but she was having trouble keeping her eye open and she kept wondering why her mind was trying to tell her there was something wrong about Regina being there. She tried to keep a hold of that thought but couldn't get it to form quite right.

Apparently seeing her struggle, Regina simply said, "sleep."

When Emma woke next Regina was still there at her bedside, although looking much more tired.

"How are you feeling?"

Emma yawned and reached for the controller to move the bed so she could be a little more upright. "Better."

"Good."

Emma got the sense that Regina wanted to say more than that, but she didn't. She was looking at Emma as if to reassure herself that Emma was indeed feeling better.

"How bad do I look?" Emma asked. She reached up and felt the bandage that was wrapped around her head. It was more padded in the back where her head had hit the concrete. Her eye was still swollen shut.

"You'll heal," Regina said. Again Emma got the feeling that there was something going unsaid in the way Regina was speaking to her. Regina's voice was even strange – more flat and unemotional than she was used to.

"Is something wrong?" Emma asked.

There was a distinct pause before Regina spoke. "No," she said. "I'm just glad you are alright."

Emma was going to say something in response since she was sure that something was wrong, when Regina stood up suddenly and announced she was going to get the nurse to check on her now that she was awake. There was definitely something wrong.

Maybe she was hurt worse than a concussion, she thought and she did a quick visual on her body and made sure all her parts were moving.

Emma quickly thought about what else may have happened for Regina to be acting this way. She remembered the confrontation in the alley way, vaguely recalled speaking to the police about it but after that things were hazy. She realized she didn't even know how she had gotten here.

Or really why Regina was there. She was supposed to be in the Hamptons.

Emma was beginning to understand that her hit on the head must have been more severe than she thought.

Regina didn't return until the nurse did and then she stood back while the nurse examined her and asked her a round of questions. One of those questions dealt with whether she remembered what had happened to her and she told the nurse she did, but she couldn't recall much afterward. The nurse had her tell her what she did remember of what happened.

She described the encounter and she noticed Regina's gaze had never averted from her and she seemed more worried now as Emma told of the assault.

The nurse finally left, telling her the doctor would be in soon, and Regina retook the seat she had been sitting on.

"Ruby brought you to the hospital," Regina said. "She found you in your apartment on the couch and you weren't being very responsive so she brought you in here."

"Probably a good thing she did," Emma said. "Did she call you? Did you leave the Hamptons just to come here? Where's Henry?"

"Henry is with Katherine. I came back here on my own," Regina said. There was another pause. "Ruby didn't call me. I called her and asked her to check on you after you and I were on the phone and I could tell something was wrong."

"We spoke on the phone?" Emma said. "When?"

"Not long after it happened from what I could gather. You weren't speaking very clearly at the time and I got worried so I called Ruby. I was very grateful that she did as I asked."

Emma recalled that Regina had called her before the encounter with the suspect – or so she thought – but she was having trouble remembering another phone call or speaking to her. Based on the way Regina was speaking to her she wondered what exactly was said when they talked.

"I hope I didn't say anything embarrassing," Emma said laughing a little. When she saw Regina avert her eyes, she knew something must have happened. "What? What did I say?"

"It's not important," Regina replied. "The important thing is that you are ok."

"But I did say something, didn't I?"

"Like I said, it's not important."

"Regina, just tell me what it was because I can tell it must be something."

Regina bit her lip – a trait that Emma found endearing usually because it was cute, but now it made her more nervous.

"You could have told me why you didn't want to go to the Hamptons," Regina said. "We could have talked about it."

Emma thought about protesting – telling her that obviously she was working as she said or she wouldn't have ended up there in the hospital. But not knowing what she had said to Regina she decided against it.

"It's not that I didn't want to go," Emma said. "You know how much I like spending time with you and Henry."

"But that doesn't extend to people I know," Regina supplied to her.

Emma shrugged. "The Hamptons. I mean that's where rich people go and talk about things like their stock options and yachts. What do I have to contribute to that world? To your world?"

Regina was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and the doctor came in. He asked Emma some questions that were repeats to the ones the nurse asked. Regina stood back as the doctor spoke to Emma wondering what was going to happen next. Were she and Emma breaking up? When she had rushed back to see Emma in the hospital she hadn't really thought about what Emma had said on the phone to her. It was all about getting here to make sure Emma was ok.

But the longer she had sat here thinking about it, the more it concerned her.

Emma, despite the slurred speech, had almost sounded hostile toward her and the mere idea of the Hamptons. The matter of Regina's wealth and social standing had never been brought up by Emma before and Regina began to realize that maybe that was because Emma had been holding it in. When she had gotten the concussion, like being drunk, must have turned off any filter she had in withholding such thoughts or feelings.

It wasn't as if Regina wasn't aware that she and Emma were not in the same circles financially or socially and it hadn't been an issue until now.

She was lost in her thoughts when she heard the doctor say that Emma would be released but she shouldn't be alone. He asked her if she had someone to keep an eye on her for a few days.

"I have a friend, Ruby, the woman who brought me in, she can check in on me," Emma said.

"You can stay with me for a few days," Regina offered.

The doctor looked at her and then at Emma.

"I don't want to impose," Emma said.

"You won't be."  
Emma nodded when the doctor asked her if that would be a good arrangement for her and then he left to get the paperwork processed for her release.

"Could you sit down?" Emma asked when Regina kept standing against the far wall. Regina reclaimed the seat but they didn't say anything for a while.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying at your place?"

"I don't mind and I would feel better if you weren't at your place all alone."

Silence again permeated the room.

"That isn't my world," Regina said finally. "The Hamptons I mean. It's a place to go visit. It's a place Henry enjoys and I enjoy because we can get out of the city and relax for a bit. I went there with my parents when I was kid and I've gotten to take Henry there. I have friends there and yes there is talk of stock options and yachts. But you know what else there is talk of? We talk about our children, about good schools, about what are good places to eat and a myriad of other things that people talk about regardless of their socioeconomic statuses."

"I get that, but come on, what are people going to think if you introduce me to them and all I have to add to the conversation is growing up in foster homes, being in jail and getting my head bashed in by felons," Emma said. "What are they going to think of you?"

"Think of me?" Regina said confused. "You are worried about what they might think of me?"

"Of course. I don't want people thinking less of you because you are dating someone who had to get her GED in jail and never went to college."

Regina took her hand in hers. "If you had come with me I wouldn't have expected you to be anyone other than who you are. I wouldn't have asked you to come with us if I didn't think you would tell people the truth of who you are if that is what you felt comfortable in doing. I don't care what people think of me because of who I am dating. I didn't care when I was married to Stephen and I am sure plenty of people there had their own thoughts about him. Emma, the things you have gone through, they make you who you are and who you are is someone I love."

Emma beamed a smile at her. "Love? You haven't said that before."

"Well, neither have you."

Emma, the smile still etched on her face, "I love you," she said. "I would have said it sooner but I didn't know if you thought it was too soon or whatever. But I do love you."

"Good," Regina said and she stood up and bent over to share a kiss with her. Emma put her hand on Regina's arm, keeping her from pulling back too quickly. When she finally let her go, Regina stood up, but she didn't sit back down immediately. She brushed her hand alongside Emma's face.

"I know we are from different backgrounds," Regina said. "And I know this probably isn't the last time something like this will come up. But when it does, I need you to talk to me. I need to know what you are thinking because I am not intuitive like you are. You read people so well. I'm not like that. I need things to be more direct; I guess would be the way to say it. So please just talk to me."

"Ok," Emma said nodding. "Sorry. I guess it's just been a while since I've dated anyone where it was more than a casual kind of thing. And I don't want to muck this up because I do love you."

"It's ok," Regina said. "Like I said, I just need you to talk to me."

…

Hours later, after Emma was discharged and they had stopped at her place to pick up some things before finally getting to Regina's place. Emma was tired so she laid down in the bed while Regina went about making some dinner for the two of them. Henry would be back the day after next so they would have more than 24 hours alone in the apartment. She had already called Henry to give him and update and to talk to Katherine.

For dinner, she made chicken parmesan. When it was ready, she went into the bedroom to where Emma was still lying there asleep.

She looks cute, Regina thought, even with the bandages.

Of course she had heard what Emma had told the nurse and doctor about what had happened to her, but seeing those bruises and the bandages made it more real to her. Yes, she had met Emma under intense circumstances and it wasn't the first time she had visited her in hospital. But this was different – the last time she wasn't Emma's girlfriend.

Now she was.

She wasn't naïve. She knew that what Emma did for a living could be dangerous. Still, she couldn't help but feel more fear now – fear for Emma's life.

While she had been cooking dinner she hadn't been able to get lost in creating a dish like she often could. There were times in her life when she had baked or cooked something just to take her mind off of things. She enjoyed getting lost in cooking.

It didn't always work, and this was one of those times when it didn't work.

Regina walked up to the bed and gently shook Emma awake.

"Huh?" Emma said, a slight look of confusion on her face until she realized where she was.

"Dinner is ready," Regina said. "Are you feeling up to it?"

"Your cooking, most definitely," Emma said. She rolled off the bed and stood quickly – too quickly and Regina had to give her a steadying hand. "I'm okay. I just won't do that ever again."

"Please don't."

They went out and sat down for dinner. Emma's trip to the hospital had done nothing to curb her appetite, which Regina was thankful for. She wasn't even part way through her plate when she began yawning.

"Have you had any sleep since you called Ruby?" Emma asked.

"Hospitals aren't exactly the best place for a nap."

"You should have said something. Now I feel bad about hogging your bed and you cooking dinner for me."

"Don't feel bad. Remember I enjoy cooking," she said. "Besides, if I had slept when we returned I would have had a hard time sleeping tonight and I don't feel like having my sleep schedule thrown off that much. I would hardly say you were hogging the bed either. You needed your rest far more than I did."

"Still, I feel bad."

"Well don't," Regina said simply. "Now if you hog the covers tonight then we might have a problem."  
Both women smiled at each other. While they had been intimate, their opportunities for such activities wasn't always there. With Henry living there Regina had insisted they be careful about affection when they were at her place. It was why they mostly waited until they were at Emma's.

Neither woman expected they would be engaging in sex tonight either given that Emma just got out of the hospital, but the idea of sharing a bed for the night was just as appealing.

"I promise I won't hog the covers," Emma said.


	17. Chapter 17

Emma wanted to take her time in Regina's shower – it was certainly superior to hers, but Regina had been concerned about Emma being on her feet too long so she had promised to keep it short. When she had woken up that morning, she did so with Regina snuggled up against her. She took comfort in being close to her.

She realized that things could have gone differently yesterday. Regina could have decided to end it with her entirely, and Emma was grateful her bit of concussion induced talking hadn't resulted in a break up. Most days Emma was still in some shock that she and Regina were actually dating. It didn't make sense as they couldn't be more opposite in terms of their lives. But now she knew how close she came to a major screw up.

Her relationship history wasn't the best. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed some of her more serious relationships, but something always stopped her from getting too invested in it.

She wasn't a fool, she knew why that was. After being burned by Neal she had sworn she would never again be put in such a position. It wasn't fair to those women to project her own insecurities into their relationships, but somehow it seemed to happen. She had been broken up with a couple of times with the women telling her that after a while of seeing her, they felt like a big part of her was still unapproachable.

Maybe this was true; she hadn't really given it much thought.

She didn't want it to be like that with Regina. That was part of why she had chosen to be upfront with her by telling her about her run in with the law. That and given Regina's social standing she knew it could have been a deal killer from the very start.

Turning off the water, these deep thoughts had darkened her mood. Taking her time to dry off, she got dressed with the clothes she had brought in with her. She had kept it simple – a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. Regina had already made it clear that she wouldn't be going anywhere or doing anything beyond resting today.

Leaving the bathroom, she took a seat on the edge of the bed.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting like that until Regina came in.

"Hey, are you alright?" Regina said.

"Yeah," she said. "Come here."

Regina came over and sat beside her and Emma took her hand and held it.

"I know we talked about this already, but I'm really sorry about not coming to the Hamptons with you and Henry," Emma said. "That was me and my own stuff. It had nothing to do with you or our relationship. I just need you to know that."

"I do know that," Regina said.

"Good," Emma said. "Cause I really want this to work out between us."

"I want the same."

They kissed for a few moments before Regina put an end to it so they could have breakfast.

The day went on – uneventful, but Emma kind of liked hanging out at Regina's all day with nothing to do but spend time with her. They talked a lot, Emma took a nap part way through the day and she spent time playing some of Henry's video games and then there was more talking before Regina let her help her cook dinner. Emma thought this was the best part of the day because she knew as a chef Regina probably didn't let a lot of people in her kitchen who weren't professionals.

That night, she was feeling pretty good but still it took considerable amount of her charm to convince Regina she was ok enough for sex.

In the morning, waking up to a naked Regina was enough to make her feel like this really was the one – the kind of relationship people dream about.

….

Emma walked out of the police station, another successful return of a criminal making her happy. Getting into her car she headed home. Despite the noises of the city inundating everything, she kept the car window down wanting to feel the slight breeze.

Summer may be ending but today was one of those days where the weather couldn't be much more perfect. It had been a good summer for her – possibly even the best. She, Regina and Henry had just gotten back from a trip to the Hamptons the weekend before. It was their second trip this summer and this time Emma had felt more at ease with being there. Their first trip had only been a weekend trip and she had been a bundle of nerves for the first day but calmed down on the second.

It really was beautiful out there, but Emma couldn't help but realize it really was another world. One was either rich or catering to the rich out there. It was unlike any thing she had really ever experienced. Seeing Regina there though, she could see how for her it was a natural as could be. It wasn't that Regina was different out there but Emma could see differences. They were small things though – like Regina being able to handle conversations of things that were well beyond Emma's experiences. But the grace that Regina always seemed to exude was there and Emma found she was smiling sometimes just watching her girlfriend.

This last trip had been for the full week – a last hoorah as it were for Henry before he went back to school. Each day they did something with just the three of them, but at other times they were with groups of people like Katherine and her husband. Emma was introduced to a lot of people and there were only a few times where she felt like people were looking down on her. Those were mostly instances involving other women, which made Emma wonder if it was because of her or if these women had some interest in Regina. She kept a close eye out on anyone who was paying any special attention to her girlfriend.

It wasn't as if she was worried about Regina's commitment – she wasn't – but she wasn't going to take any chances if one of these women did want to try anything.

When she had mentioned it to Katherine, the other woman had laughed, telling Emma that it would hardly matter if anyone there did have an interest in Regina, as Regina would have none of it. Besides, for some of these people it was a realization for them that Regina was even bisexual.

After spending the day with Regina and Henry, and most of their evenings in the company of others, Emma had most looked forward to returning to the house each night. There, after Henry went to sleep, it was just her and Regina and she took advantage of that time to make sure Regina knew how much she loved her. There wasn't a single part of Regina's body that Emma didn't enjoy touching, or in her more devious moments teasing until Regina was completely and utterly in her thrall.

Yes Emma thought it had been a good summer.

As the time had gone on Emma had considered more and more about having a future with Regina. They hadn't really talked about such things but they both loved each other so Emma knew at some point they would need to talk about when to take the next step in their relationship.

Emma didn't really know what that next step should be or when they should take that next step. Usually by the time a next step had come up in one of her past relationships she or the other woman would have bolted.

They did have one next step coming up this weekend – Regina's parents would be in town and they were going to have dinner with them. It would be the first time Emma would be with both of Regina's parents.

She was a little nervous, but only because she wanted to make a good impression. While Emma was sure it wouldn't matter to Regina what her parents thought of her, it never hurt to have the parents on her side. She felt like Cora was already there – at least from their limited interaction, but she knew this time it would be Regina's father who would be making his determination.

They had spoken a lot about their childhoods – Regina telling her stories of all the places she had been but also about the pressure she felt to always make a good impression. She never wanted anyone to think less of her father because of something she had done. It was part of the reason she hated the story of her throwing up in front of the queen because she knew it could easily have gone another way.

For Emma's part, there wasn't a lot of talking about her past. There had been talks though – as they laid in bed together and Emma felt the most secure that she confessed things to Regina. She told her about some of the foster homes she had been in and why she ran away from the one where the father looked at her and his own daughter in ways that had made her ill. He had never touched her but Emma had been sure if she had stayed it would have only been a matter of time.

She talked about how she used to dream of the day her parents would come and rescue her until she finally grew up and realized whoever they were they had no interest in the daughter they had given up.

There were things she told Regina that she had never told anyone else before. But there was something about the other woman that made Emma feel safe.

When she got home and up to her apartment, she was unlocking her door when her neighbor came out.

"Hey Emma," her neighbor Ron said. "Guy was here earlier looking for you."

"Did he say who he was?" Emma asked. Given her work she didn't let a lot of people know where she lived. Yes there were ways to find out, but she didn't make it easy – keeping a P.O. box to her mail never came to her apartment.

"Said his name was Trevor," Ron said. "Big guy. Said you would know where to find him. He a friend?"

"Yeah, sort of," Emma said smiling. "Trevor is the one who I learned the tricks of trade from. Thanks for letting me know."

She went into her apartment knowing she would be leaving again soon to go find Trevor at his favorite place to go in the city. He was a good guy, if not a little paranoid as he got older. For instance, he hated cell phones – believed the government was tracking people through them. He had a prepaid mobile he would use, but apparently calling her before stopping by wasn't on his agenda.

While she worked exclusively in New York – Trevor traveled up and down the east coast. As a former Marine he tended to cut an intimidating figure to those he was after. In their line of work he had practically reached legend status.

Calling a cab – because she knew meeting Trevor would involve more than a couple of beers – she quickly changed clothes so she could go meet him.

…

Walking into the bar, Emma immediately saw Trevor sitting in a booth, his back to the wall, and a platter of food in front of him.

"About time you get here," he said as she sat down.

"Good to see you too. Is this lunch, dinner or a bit of both?" she asked.

"Best damn reuben sandwich in the city," he said, taking a bite of the sandwich. This is how she knew where he would be. Trevor loved reubens. He tried them everywhere he went as if he was on some sort of mythical quest for the perfect one. While he wouldn't qualify this hole in the wall bar as having one of his top five reubens, in this city at least he felt it was a standout.

The waitress came over and Emma ordered a beer and a cheeseburger.

They exchanged some pleasantries and gossip about others in the business until her food arrived.

"What brings you up this way, a job?" she asked before taking a bite.

He was working on his onion rings but he reached down to his seat and pulled up an envelope and slid it across the table to her. Wiping off her hands she picked it up and opened it, pulling out several photos.

"Where were these taken? And when?" she asked, flipping through them.

"That's your guy, right?"

"Yeah, it's him," she said as she got to the last picture of Neal. "Where and when?"

"Georgia, about a week ago."

"And you are just now telling me. Jesus Trevor, you couldn't have picked up the god damn phone?"

"Easy on the blasphemy," he said. "Do you think I would be here simply enjoying a meal if I had more than some fucking pictures?"

"Sorry," she said, taking a drink of her beer. She suddenly didn't feel like eating. There he was after all this time, in black and white photos walking down a street as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"That's better," he said. "Now, he's been in Georgia, doing a job, I think. It was just dumb luck that I found him. I was taking down this kiddie pervert at this hotel and the guy kept screaming – God I hate whiny ass screamers – anyway, the door to the next room over opens and there is your guy looking like he wants to say something to me like to tell me to cut the noise down, but he takes one look at me handcuffing this other dude and he slinks back into his room. Now I didn't get a real good look at him at the time, but you know when someone does something like that – backs down without a word - it's suspicious as all get out. So I was working with a local, just some kid who does surveillance type shit and I set him up to watch this guy in the room, report back to me. He's the one who snapped the photos and also the one keeping an eye on him for you."

"Then he's still down in Georgia?" Emma asked.

"For now, but he is moving on Florida this weekend. I figure that is your best bet to get him. You've been working that Tallahassee beat so you should be able to find him easy enough," Trevor said. "That's not really your problem with all of this."

"What's the problem?"

"You don't have an active warrant to work off of," Trevor said. "I checked. Ain't no one looking for this guy but you."

"What about that fraud case up in Michigan?"

"Dropped," Trevor said.

"And the theft charge in Tennessee?"

"Dropped."

"California. He had that whole selling fake jewelry thing?"

"Not active."

"North Carolina?"

"He apparently paid restitution and the widow he took advantage of had the charges dropped to avoid embarrassment," Trevor said. "How do you not know this?"

Emma rubbed her forehead. She had been so busy with work and with Regina that she hadn't really checked in on Neal's status for a long time. She needed a warrant of some sort in order to go after him.

"Look, this guy is probably wanted, but you know how it is with these con men – they are either wanted under aliases that people have figured out yet or you have victims who aren't willing to come forward and admit they got duped," Trevor said. "Again, I ask, how do you not know this?"

"I …I got other things going on in my life right now," she replied.

"With what? You once told me that getting this guy was the single most important thing you will ever do in your life."

Had she said that, she wondered, even though she knew it probably was true. Getting Neal had been the thing she swore she would do. Yet, she hadn't checked on his case statuses for months.

"What gives with you?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I've been seeing someone."

Trevor laughed, "Don't tell me some woman has finally made an honest woman out of you? I mean I don't see a ring and I sure as hell wasn't invited to the wedding."

"It's not like that," she said.

"Good, because if you are going to get this guy your head needs to be in the game," he said. "Now, I've got us a flight on Friday down to Florida. We'll stakeout Tallahassee, keep an eye on your guy and figure out our next move. Maybe before then you can do some of your missed work and make sure no one is legitimately looking for this guy."

"I can't go down there this weekend," she said.

"Why not?"

She licked her lips, trying to decide whether to tell him she couldn't go because she was having dinner with her girlfriend's parents. Why did this have to happen now? She had waited years to be able to get this close to Neal and what if this was her best chance.

"You know, nevermind, I can go," she said. "I just need to rearrange a few things."


	18. Chapter 18

Emma shifted on her feet as she waited for the door to open. Regina would know it was her there – even though she no longer had to wait at the front desk for Regina to give permission to come up she suspected Sidney had given orders to always call up and tell Regina if she was there. She had the distinct feeling that Sidney did not like her although she had no idea why.

She was still moving on the balls of her feet when the door finally opened.

"Hey kid, where's your mom?" she asked when Henry opened the door. He stepped out of the way for her to enter.

"She's taking a shower. New server at the restaurant ran into her while carrying a full tray of food. She had spare clothes at work to change into but she said she felt like she had sauce in … well places I shouldn't know about," he said.

Emma probably would have laughed if she didn't feel like she wanted to throw up. She was there to tell Regina in person that she wasn't going to be able to make it to dinner with her parents tomorrow night.

She had spent all day yesterday and today trying to find information on a warrant to get Neal and strategizing with Trevor. In reality she had been putting off doing what she was doing now.

She could only pray Regina wouldn't be too upset.

"Something wrong?" Henry asked.

"No," Emma said, rustling his hair. "Just wanna speak with your mom is all."

"She just got in the shower before you came up so it might be a little while. You want to play a game while you wait."

"Sure," she said, following him into the main room.

Sitting on the couch with Henry, they played a couple matches of Wrestlemania – of which she lost both – when Regina came into the room, managing to get a couple of words out to Henry before she noticed Emma.

"Hi," Regina said with a little hesitation. There was a look of confusion on her face.

Emma handed the controller to Henry and got up and approached her. "Sorry for just popping in like this."

"Thank God," Regina breathed out. "For a moment there I thought that we had plans that I had forgotten about. It's been that kind of day."

"I heard about you getting run into by the server."

"That was the highlight," she said.

"What else happened?"

"We get our bread from a bakery – fresh deliveries – and they had a truck problem or something this morning so our first round of customers were not able to have bread with meals. Thankfully our lunch crowd is often people who believe bread will make them put on 10 pounds instantly so the impact was lessoned. Still it was an annoyance. It was just small things all day that seemed to add up. Seeing you though, that makes it all a bit better," she said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Emma felt even worse now and considered backing out of this completely.

"Do you want something to drink?" Regina asked as she headed toward the kitchen and Emma followed.

"No thanks," Emma said.

Opening the cupboard Regina pulled out a glass and then got some juice from the fridge. She took a drink before looking up at Emma, who had returned to shifting on her feet.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked, putting the glass down on the counter.

"Can we um maybe talk in your room, have some privacy?"

Regina nodded yes, but Emma could see Regina was already getting concerned. They walked to her room and as soon as Regina closed the door silence descended upon them. Both had their nerves on display.

"It's Neal," Emma said finally. "I found him."

"What? That's amazing. Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Regina said; her happiness in full force for a moment until she saw Emma's eyes go toward the floor. There was another silent pause. "Did something go wrong when you apprehended him?"

"I haven't caught him yet," Emma said. "That's why I'm here. A friend of mine, Trevor – I told you all about him. He's the one who taught me the job. Anyway he is really the one that found him and found out that Neal is going to be in Tallahassee this weekend."

She let that linger between them. There was no reason to point out what this weekend was supposed to entail – they both knew.

"Then you have to go," Regina said.

"I don't want to miss dinner with your parents, but …"

"You have to go," Regina said walking up to her and taking her hands in hers. "This is your chance to bring him to justice. This is your chance to put this behind you once and for all. You have to go."  
Emma released her hands and came closer, hugging Regina. "Please don't hate me."

Regina held her tighter. "I don't hate you," she said, softly. "What happened to you because of him, I understand why you have to do this, but I need you to be careful." She pulled away a little bit, just to be able to look her in the eyes. "I need you be careful because if something happens to you …"

"Nothing is going to happen to me. Neal is a con artist, a thief, he's not dangerous and even if he was, Trevor is going down with me so I won't be alone."

"Well you tell Trevor that as long as he brings you back safely, I will work tirelessly to perfect a reuben for him."

Emma beamed at her. She loved how Regina listened to her – even about silly things – and remembered these little details.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They kissed but didn't take it any further. They ended up sitting on the bed and Regina asked her more about how Trevor found Neal and what the plan was. Emma told her all about it – confessing that she wasn't sure she could bring Neal into custody because she didn't have a warrant to go on. Regina asked her some logistical questions about how all of that worked. They were probably talking for nearly an hour before Emma said she needed to leave because she and Trevor needed to finalize a few things before flying out the next day.

"I'm sorry about this, even though you understand, I'm sorry," Emma said at the door. "Tell your parents I'm sorry."

"I will," Regina said. "And I expect a call every day you are gone so I know you are ok."

"I can do that," Emma said.

They exchanged I love yous again and another kiss before Emma left. As she rode the elevator down, leaning against the back wall, she felt horrible about how understanding Regina was about all of this. She realized she may have felt better if Regina had been a little more upset. It would make her feel a little less like an asshole since she hadn't been entirely honest with Regina about the nature of her former relationship with Neal. They had only had sex a few times but Regina didn't know that Emma had had sex with any men.

Looking back now Emma knew she had only had sex with Neal because of the situation she had been in back there. Neal was the only one in her life, the only person she had trusted at the time and despite being fairly sure she was a lesbian she hadn't seen the harm at the time of letting Neal use her like that. The truth was she had been afraid that Neal would kick her to the curb if they didn't change the nature of their relationship to include sex. Having sex with Neal had confirmed for her that she wasn't interested in men that way.

She had been in a bad place back then – having run away from the foster care system, not having anyone in her life or really any practical knowledge of what it would take to survive in life. Meeting Neal, she had seen in him someone who lived on the fringe and was unapologetic about it and that is what she wanted – to not have to apologize for her life.

Neal gave her that chance and then he took it away from her.

….

Regina was entirely not interested in the meal in front of her. Even without Emma there, she and Henry were having dinner with her parents. She had spoken to her mother on the phone before they arrived to let them know Emma would not be there – telling them only that work had taken Emma out of state and that she apologized for not being there. She hadn't gone into details despite her mother asking her questions – as usual – because she didn't feel like it was her story to tell.

Yes, her parents knew things about Emma that she had told them. They knew what she did for a living. From that they could conclude that Emma was not in the same financial bracket as her, but they also knew that didn't matter to Regina. They knew she had been a foster child. But she couldn't tell them about Neal because she hadn't told them that Emma had a criminal record.

It's not like her parents need to know every facet of Emma's life, but ever since Emma had told her this and other things Regina had begun to see how much it had shaped the person Emma was now. The strength she had seen in Emma from the moment she met her was ever present, but there was also this vulnerability in her.

That combination of strength and vulnerability was one of the things that Regina found most endearing about her.

It was like when Emma had told her about Neal being in Florida this weekend, that one sentence – 'Please don't hate me' had resonated with her.

Emma had been afraid that Regina would indeed hate her because of this.

While Regina wished that Emma was there with her right now she really did understand that this was something Emma had to do. If Emma didn't take care of this with Neal it would always be there on her mind.

"Regina?"

She looked up at her father, realizing she had spaced out for a moment.

"Yes?"

"I said your mother and I are planning on extending our stay here through next weekend, do you think Emma will be able to join us later in the week?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's not like she has a set itinerary while she is out of town," Regina responded. "But when I speak to her later tonight I will see if she thinks it is a possibility. She really did feel bad about missing out on meeting you."

"I was looking forward to it as well," her father said. "Which is why your mother and I are more than willing to stay in town a little longer. Plus I will take any excuse to spend time with my daughter and grandson."

She smiled at him knowing it was true, and in her mind she hoped Emma would be back soon. Despite her saying Neal was not dangerous she didn't like the idea of Emma being so far away if something were to happen.

After dinner they all went back to Regina's place and Henry was in his room, leaving the three adults to speak.

"Regina, are you sure things are going well with you and Emma?" Cora asked.

"Yes mother," Regina said. "Her being away has nothing to do with her and I. I told you it's her job. You know how busy I can be. But her life is no less busy than mine."

"Your mother is just worried about you," Henry Sr., said.

"I know and I appreciate it," Regina said. "But things are going really well between Emma and me. I love her."

"We know," Cora said, giving her a little hug. "Which is why we are looking forward to getting to know her better."

"We sort of assume Emma will be sticking around for a while," Henry said.

"I hope so," Regina smiled. "She makes me happy in a way I haven't felt in a long time. Henry adores her and despite our differences she and I just fit if that makes any sense."

"It does," Henry Sr., said. "I think anyone who finds the person they want to spend their life with feels that way."

…

Emma sat in the rental car with Trevor – working up the courage to go inside the bar where Neal had been sitting in for close to an hour. She and Trevor had gotten down there and found Neal quick enough but now came the hard part.

She still didn't have a warrant.

Somehow Neal had been able to pay restitution for his crimes or otherwise found ways to get the charges dropped. She knew first hand how charming he could be which is why she may have gotten more angry in the past 24 hours – angry that he appeared to be getting away with every thing he ever did to cross another person.

She had done her time and the way she saw it, he deserved to do his time too.

"What's the play here?" Trevor asked. He had asked her the same question in different ways since they had been waiting there.

"I don't know," she said. "Hands are tied."

"So what do you want to do? Want to give it up? Keep tabs on him a little better now that you know where he is at and hope he does something again? Go back home to your girl?"

Regina. She had told him more about her and he had actually laughed at her – in a good way because he could tell how happy she was to have Regina in her life. Even as she sat there, she thought about how she was supposed to be at dinner at that very moment with Regina and her parents.  
Exhaling, she put her hand on the door. "I'm going in there. Going to play it by ear. You stay here."

"You sure."

"Got to do something."

Exiting the vehicle she realized just how nervous she was about seeing Neal face to face once more. Walking in, she went straight to the bar, not even looking around for him. She ordered a beer and took a seat at one of the ends, her back to the door. As she took her first drink she let her eyes glide around the room. Neal was in the back; she had a clear view of him, and she recognized him immediately. He had a bit of gray in his hair near the temples but it was still the same Neal.

He had already smiled once since she saw him there and it was the same smile she remembered. Back then there were a lot of smiles exchanged between them – each time they were successful in stealing something or at night when they would be sheltered down in a car or in a cheap motel. At the time Emma thought they were going to be together forever – not romantically, but as best friends.

She had felt like she had gotten a bad run in life and so she used those feelings to justify what they were doing. The people they hustled, the stores they stole from, in her mind they were people or business owners who didn't have to deal with hardship like she had.

Neal had become her beacon in that dark time and she would have followed him anywhere if he hadn't have turned around and hung her out to dry.

There was another man at the table who was facing away from her and she had no idea who it was. From her past research and from her past with Neal she knew some of his associates – mostly people who helped Neal fence goods he had acquired.

From Neal's expression and mannerisms, she gathered this was someone he knew well and someone who probably knew exactly who Neal was. Of course, she could be wrong. Neal had the ability to seem relaxed around anyone which was part of why people inherently trusted him because he never showed that he was worried about anything.

What was she doing here, she asked herself for the hundredth time since she had left New York. Yes, she wanted Neal to pay for all he had done, especially to her. She wanted him to pay. It was what she wanted since the day the jail door closed for the first time in her cell.

But now she wanted something else. She wanted to be home. She wanted to be with Regina and Henry.

Here she was mired in the past when it was the future she should be thinking about.

She got lost in her thoughts – engaging in an internal debate – when she finally came to the conclusion that she needed to go home. She finished off her beer and was standing up when she heard, "Emma?"

Neal was there and suddenly he was smiling at her and hugging her.

"Neal," she said, when he released her.

He looked at from bottom to top. "How are you?"

"Good," she said, trying to keep the range of emotions out of her voice. "I was actually just getting ready to leave. It was good to see you."

She took half a step toward the door when he put her hand on her arm and she stopped. "Come on, sit, let's have a drink, catch up."

Pausing, she thought about Regina once more, but all she could hear in her mind was the door to her cell closing.

"Yeah, sure," she said nodding. "I have time."


	19. Chapter 19

When her phone rang late that night Regina was quick to answer it.

"Emma?"

"Did I wake you?" Emma asked.

"No," Regina said. "I was awake. When you didn't call earlier I got worried."

"Sorry," Emma said. "I was out later than I expected."

"Did you get him?"

"No," Emma said. "But I did see him, spoke to him." There was a pause. "I was at this bar and he was talking to someone. I figured it had to do with whatever job he was either finishing up or getting ready to start." Another pause. "I should have just walked away. I thought about it. I was sitting there at the bar and I thought what am I doing here when I should be back there in New York with you and Henry. I was going to do it too. You have to believe me. I was going to walk away and then he, Neal, saw me and started to speak. God, I'm such an idiot. I've made so many mistakes and this one … I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Regina asked as she sat up in bed. While she hadn't been asleep she had been lying down and reading a book that she was barely paying attention to in order to pass the time.

Several moments of silence passed this time and Regina finally said, "Emma?"

"We were just talking and I … fuck … he wants me to do a job with him."

"Emma, please tell me you told him no."

There was no answer.

"Emma."

"I told him I would."

"Emma!" Regina said.

"I know," Emma said quickly. "But he was sitting there talking about old times and all I could think of was how he hadn't paid for any of it. All the things he has done over the course of years and he never had to face the consequences. And he still isn't facing any consequences which is why I need to nail him now. I don't plan on going through with whatever he has planned but, if I can find out what it is then I can tip off the authorities and they can catch him in the act."

"It's too risky," Regina said. "You can't trust him."

"I know I can't, but don't you see this is the only way."

"No, I don't see that. Emma you can't do this."

There was more silence between them.

"I need to do this," Emma said. "You said you understood."

"I do understand, but you can't do it like this. You are jeopardizing everything you have become since he put you in prison by dong this," Regina said. "Please Emma, just come home."

More silence.

"I can't."

This time it was Regina who went silent.

"I'm sorry," Emma said again.

"I'm sorry too," Regina said. "If you go down this path, I can't … just come home Emma."

"I'll be ok," Emma reassured her.

Regina again paused before speaking. Her heart was moving slow but powerfully in her chest. She loved Emma, but this was a step she wasn't sure she could take.

"What do you think he is going to ask you to do?" she asked.

"Not sure," Emma replied even as she felt a little relieved that Regina hadn't simply hung up on her or broken up on her. "What little he talked about I don't think he has actually started the job. He is all into the long con."

"What does that mean, the long con?"

"A short con is like when you pretend to be injured or something like that in order to elicit sympathy to make money, or say you pretend to have a broken arm and struggle to put your groceries in the car and someone helps you. As they do you pickpocket them. It's a simple trick that you do quickly and not stick around. The long con is more complex. It can last days, weeks, months, hell even years. Its like a marriage con is a long con," she explained. "A guy pretends to be a socialite, gets a woman of high standing to fall in love, get as much money from her as you can and split. I don't know what kind of con he has in mind, but having a woman's assistance would make it easier he said."

More silence from Regina.

"Are you still there?" Emma asked after the silence stretched on.

"I don't like this," she said. "What if you get caught up in all of this and he betrays you again and you end up getting arrested?"

"I'm not the same stupid kid I was back then. I'm not going to let him trick me like that again."

"You aren't the same person as you were back then, but can't you see the person you are now, she's worth protecting," Regina said. "You are risking everything for revenge. It's not worth it."

"Not worth it. I went to prison because of him," Emma said, getting a little angry. Regina was the one who had given leave to come down here in the first place saying she understood and now this. "What about the life he stole from me?"

"I'm not discounting what you went through. I'm just trying to get you to see that because of what happened to you and because you fought your way back from it that it's not worth risking him messing it up once more. Please Emma. Come home. My parents, they are going to stick around for a few days. You can get on a plane tomorrow and come back here and you and me and Henry, we can go out to dinner with my parents like we planned. We can …"

"So this is about your parents," Emma said interrupting her. "I miss dinner with your parents and what, they don't see me as being worthy of their little girl?"

"No that's not it at all," Regina said. "You didn't let me finish. I was going to say we can be a family. You, me, Henry. You don't need revenge. There are so many more important things in your life, like love. I love you Emma."

This time Emma was the one not speaking.

"I love you too," she said. "But I have to do this."

"No you don't. You are choosing to do this. And if that is your choice then I don't see where I fit into your life."

"Well we've been down this road before," Emma said. "Maybe we should take it as a sign finally that we don't fit together."

This time the silence was followed by Regina hanging up the phone.

She sat there in bed staring at, willing it to ring, for Emma to call back and say she was sorry and that she would get back to New York on the first flight out she could manage. She almost dialed Emma back, to tell her that she was sorry, that she loved her and would stand by her even as she did this.

But she didn't and the phone never rang that night.

….

"You're an idiot Swan," Trevor said the next morning when he dragged it out of her. They had been at breakfast and when Emma barely touched her food and kept looking at her phone Trevor started asking questions.

"I know," she replied.

"Then just call her."

"I can't," Emma said.

"Why not?"

"Because when shit like this happens we women expect an immediate call back. I didn't call her back immediately so she spent all night probably thinking every horrible thing she could possibly think of me," Emma said.

"That is stupid."

"Yeah well it's just what we women do."

"Is that what you did all night – think of everything bad about her?"

"Not all night," Emma said.

"Well Regina is right, you shouldn't be messing around with Neal like this, just as I told you yesterday," Trevor said. "We catch criminals, we don't help them. You do this, I'm afraid I can't help either. Part of our success is our reputations and if I got caught up in something like this or if you get caught up in something like this well that might not be something our careers could come back from."

Emma sat back in her seat, ignoring her food and Trevor while she thought. It suddenly felt like she was very alone in the world. What made it worse was that she knew it was her fault. She could have put an end to this already but she had chosen not to.

"I got to go," she said putting some money on the table. "I'm meeting Neal at 10."

….

Emma had to wait for Neal to show up – he was a good 20 minutes late when he showed up at the bar.

"Hey," Neal said sitting down with a big smile on his face. "Are you ready for a big game hunt?"

"No."

"What?"

"I'm only here to say goodbye. I'm leaving. I'm going back home to New York, going back to my life," she said. "I have someone special waiting for me back there and I realized that I'm not going to risk what we have. Whatever you're doing here I don't want to know about it. Goodbye."

She got up, not letting him say anything to her and left the bar as she needed to get to the airport and find out how soon she could get a flight home.

…

Regina had been putting on a fake smile all night as she played hostess to her parents, along with Katherine and her husband. Henry had recently gone to bed – not to sleep, she was sure, but hanging out with adults all night was enough for him to scoot toward his bedroom earlier than usual.

Katherine had wanted to see her parents while they were in town and this was the only night that worked for her. She hadn't even gotten the chance to tell Katherine about Emma calling the night before. It was not a conversation she wanted to have in earshot of her parents.

Her mother of course had commented first thing that day that Regina seemed tired. She was tired as she hadn't slept well after she had hung up the phone. All day long she kept glancing at her phone hoping to get a call or text from Emma. By the evening she knew that she wouldn't be hearing from her and she felt stupid for even thinking she would because they had broken up the night before – or so Regina assumed.

Her father was regaling Katherine with a story when the doorbell rang. Regina excused herself as she got up to answer it, wondering who it could be. She looked through the peephole first and then opened the door quickly.

"Emma."

"Hi," Emma said, and then she pulled a small bouquet of flowers out from behind her back and handed them to Regina. "Those are sorry I was an idiot flowers."

Regina looked down at the colorful arrangement. "You were an idiot."

"I know, but I came to my senses and got on the first flight I could to get back here," she said. "I had to get back here because you were right, I don't need revenge. I have everything I need with you and Henry."

Before Regina could respond, Cora called out, "Who is it honey?"

"Oh God, I'm interrupting, aren't I? I should have called first," Emma said. "I'm sorry. I should go."

Regina stopped her, taking her hand and pulling her inside. "It's Emma," Regina responded to her mother. "Look at the lovely flowers she brought me."

Later on that evening Emma lay on her back on Regina's bed with the brunette cuddled up against her. She had apologized some more once Regina's guests had left and then explained how she had left Neal there in the bar.

"Are you ok?" Regina asked. "I know that had to be hard to leave like that without getting any closure from it."

"I'm ok."

"It's ok if you aren't."

Emma didn't speak for a few moments. "It's frustrating because this felt like my one shot. Seeing him down there, it was like nothing had changed for him in all these years. He was still talking about the next job and how when he hit the big one he was going to retire forever because it would set him up for life. You know, he didn't even ask me what I've been doing. It was like he assumed I was still living a life of crime."

"He really doesn't care about anyone but himself," Emma continued. "Despite all the built up anger I have over him, a part of me sort of hoped that maybe it had all been a mistake, that may he hadn't intentionally screwed me over."

"You wanted to see the good in him. There is nothing wrong with that," Regina said. "It's actually quite an endearing trait."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," Regina said shifting so she could kiss her. They continued to kiss until Emma stopped.

"There is something else I need to tell you, something I should have told you before," Emma said. "Neal, when he and I were together back then he and I, we slept together. He's the only guy I have ever been with and it was only a couple of times and frankly an experience I never ever want to repeat. You deserve to know though that it while it was just a friendship in my eyes, I did allow that line to be crossed."

"Thank you for telling me."

"That's all you have to say about it?" Emma asked after a moment or two of silence.

"What?" Regina said. "I'm not upset about it. You slept with a man, you didn't enjoy the experience. I'm not here to judge you. God knows I've slept with a couple of people I wish I hadn't. Our pasts have helped shape who we are, but they don't define us."

"God, I love you," Emma said kissing her as she got on top of her. "How about I show you how much I missed you?"

"Please do."

…..

It was a couple of weeks later when Emma was headed to her office that she noticed a car parked across the street that she was sure she had seen yesterday near the coffee shop she liked to visit and near her apartment. It was a Chevy of some sort with tinted windows and a New Jersey license plate. This time she used her phone to take a picture of it.

She was sending the picture to a friend of hers who may be able to determine who it belonged to when she heard someone clearing their throat. She had been walking up the stairs with her head down as she texted so when she looked up she was shocked to the point of stopping when she saw Neal.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, coming up the rest of the way to where he was standing.

"I was waiting for you to get here," he said. "You left in such a hurry that I was worried about you. I thought I would pop up here and see what was so important that you had to leave so abruptly. I thought, it must be something very important or else why would you pass up a chance at a big score. But before I came up I did a little research and found out about your current occupation. I must say, I was surprised. Here was Emma Swan gone straight. Say it ain't so."

"I don't have explain myself to you."

"Of course not, I would never presume such a thing. I only say it was surprising because you were always a natural. When we met, you picked up the tricks quicker than I ever did and you were good, damn good."

"Yeah, well as you can see I don't do that anymore," Emma said. "You can see yourself out."

"Oh no, we aren't done talking business yet," Neal said.

"You and I have no business together."

"We could have, until you bailed on me. I wasn't lying when I said I could use a woman to pull it off. But now I'm afraid I'm going to have to look elsewhere," he said. "And lucky for me, you have already got it started."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not some foolish mark," Neal said. "I know what you are up to."

"Again I have no idea what the hell you are talking about."

"Maybe I'm mistaken," he shrugged. "Maybe I don't know you very well at all. Or maybe you have found yourself the big one and don't want to share. You know with something this big you really need a partner, someone who can move the mark along and I'm here to offer my services."

"You think I'm running a con," Emma said. "You think this office is a fake? Because I can show you it's not."

"The job is legit, I know," he said. "I'm sure it affords you all kinds of opportunities. How else would you manage to get close to and meet one Regina Mills after all. You will have to tell me how you did it because I'm betting it was masterful."

"Regina. Have you been following me? Is that your brown car out there?" she said grabbing a hold of him and pushing him against the wall.

"It's a loaner," he said. "And yes, I've been following you. I knew there was something up when you left suddenly. What, did Regina, need something from you and so you had to rush back here in order to not lose all your hard work? How much have you gotten from her so far?"

Emma backed away from him, her voice gone as she realized that Neal thought that Regina was her mark. He thought she was conning Regina to get her money and he clearly wanted in.

Then a thought entered her mind. What if she let him believe it? What if she pretended to bring him in on the con? What if this is how she could finally trap him? What kind of scam could she come up with in a short amount of time though?

She looked at Neal, seeing that expression of expectation he would often get before a job. She shook her head.

"Leave Neal. And if I catch you following me again I will call the cops."

"I'm not leaving, especially now that I know what are you up to."

She laughed at him. "You know the only reason I was in Florida was in the hopes of seeing you. I wanted to see you and I wanted to bring up in to whatever state had the most charges on you. I wanted so badly to see you behind bars because that is where you left me. I went to prison because of you and it doesn't even mean anything to you. You have spent your going from place to place conning people out of whatever money you could get and what do you have to show for it. You are still the same guy looking for the big score. You are never going to change, I see that now. Go. Go find your next mark but make sure it's not in my city because sooner or later you will get caught and I will be more than happy to turn you over to the police."

She walked away from him, getting her keys out to enter her office.

"People like you and I don't change," he said. "Maybe I should stop at Regina's restaurant and see about speaking to her about who she has let into her life."

Emma rounded on him. "If you go anywhere near her and I don't care if you have a warrant out on you or not, I will end you."

"Whoa, whoa, don't tell me you fell for your mark," he said putting his hands up in mock surrender. "What did I teach you about bringing emotions into the game?"

"You are unbelievable," she said. "This isn't a game. She's my girlfriend, not some mark. What I have with her is something you will never have with another human being – and that's true love. I love her. She is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

She stopped once those words were out of her mouth as she came to the realization that they were true. She did want to spend the rest of her life with Regina. She wanted to be with her and help her raise Henry. For years she could have said the most important thing in her life was seeing Neal pay, but that was no longer the case. The hurt and anger she felt over what Neal did her was nothing compared to the love she felt with Regina.

"You've gone soft Swan," Neal said.

"Maybe I have," she shrugged. "But she's worth it."

She walked away for good this time, unlocking her office and tossing the key on her desk as she took a seat.

She had of course known she was in love with Regina. She knew she saw this relationship as being long term. But somehow she hadn't really considered what long term really meant.

The idea of spending her life with Regina and Henry brought a smile to her face.

A family. Growing up in the system that was all she ever wanted and she could see it now clearly. Her, Regina and Henry could be a family.

Picking her keys back up she no longer felt like doing work – no suddenly there was only one place she wanted to be.


	20. Chapter 20

When Emma left her office, she made a series of phone calls to set things up for an evening to be shared with Regina and Henry. The first one was to Katherine, as she needed her help with a few of the things on her hastily made list. Basically, she needed Katherine to kidnap Regina for a couple of hours so Emma had time to set things up.

She texted Henry to let him know his mom would be late but that she would be over as soon as possible and would need his help.

Her next stop was to a grocery store. She knew how to cook – nothing like Regina obviously, but she couldn't remember the last time she had cooked for another person. She knew that Regina wouldn't critique her cooking skills and she wanted to be able to say that at least once she cooked for the chef. This was the part where Henry came in as she told him her plan and that he could help prepare the meal with her. He, of course, was all excited about the prospect of helping.

By the time she got over to Regina's and got all she had brought with her up to her place, she texted Katherine to tell her she might need a little more time than expected and to make sure if Regina was hungry she didn't eat anything other than a snack.

It wasn't as if Regina and she had no contact, in fact she had gotten a text from her earlier to say that she was going out with Katherine after work for drinks because Katherine had something urgent to speak to her about and was being insistent that it must happen today. Emma chuckled a little over that. She told Katherine to come up with an excuse to keep Regina occupied and Emma did sort of wonder what she told Regina. When she had called Katherine to set this up, Katherine had simply said, "leave it to me."

Emma let the babysitter (not that she would dare call her that in front of Henry) go the moment she got there, eliciting a promise from her (with the help of $20) that if Regina called or texted her to check in that she would pretend that she was still watching Henry and everything was fine.

"What are we making?" Henry asked as they took all the ingredients out.

"Spaghetti carbonara," Emma replied. "with a side of pan fried asparagus."

"Is it hard?"

"Kid, if it was hard, do you think it would be something I could make?"

He smiled at her in return and they started their work.

"I sure hope your mom won't be upset with me using her kitchen. She's told me how territorial chefs can be about their areas," she said.

"I don't think she will care as long as you clean up afterward."

While they worked, Henry talked about how school was going and Emma asked questions about what he was learning class. When he mentioned a classmate named Violet, it opened him up to another round of questions he didn't seem as eager to answer.

"Hey, turn about it fair play kid," she said. "Remember our date? You asked me everything under the sun that night or so it seemed."

"I thought you were interesting," he said. "That night when that guy had a knife to mom, you were like a superhero when you jumped over mom and went running after him."

"You seem to be forgetting the part where I got stabbed."

"But you were ok," Henry said. "I had never met anyone like you before and neither had mom. When she sat me down to tell me that you two were going to date, I didn't really know what to think because, well I didn't know my mom liked women like that. I didn't care and I don't really understand why she never said anything about it before, but she said it was complicated and I would understand better when I was older. Anyway, I was really happy she was dating you, because you make her happier than I think I have ever seen her."

Emma couldn't keep the smile off of her face at hearing Henry say this.

"I love her," she said. "I've never felt like this before with anyone else I have been with. That's why I'm here right now. I want to do something special for your mom. I want her to know that what we have is something I'll cherish and protect forever."

"Are you guys getting married?"

"What?" Emma said.

"I mean you love her and she loves you so are you getting married?"

"I think that's a conversation for your mom and me," Emma said. "Sometime down the road."

"But you would like to marry her?"

"Don't you think she would be the one to know that first?" she said, rubbing the top of his head. "Now let's finish our cooking."

….

"Just one more drink," Katherine said as she motioned to the bartender to bring them another round.

She figured one more drink would be enough time to let Emma do her thing. Plus if Regina was a little tipsy well Emma could thank her later.

"You said one drink," Regina said. "And you still haven't told me exactly why it was so important that you and I go have a drink after work. Is there something wrong? Because if you are trying delay telling me some bad news, I think it would be best if you just out and said it."

The bartender put their drinks in front of her and Regina took another drink and then put her hand on Katherine's. "You aren't sick, are you?"

"No," Katherine said, pulling her hand away and taking a drink. "Really, that is what you jumped to?"

"Well, come on," Regina asked. "You call me up, insist I go out after work with you and so far you haven't said why we are here."

"Maybe I want to spend time with my best friend."

Regina gave her a curious look. "Do you feel like I'm spending too much time with Emma? Is this what this is about?"

Katherine took another drink. "You are not spending too much time with Emma. This is … looks she is going to kill me for telling you this, but Emma asked me to take you out after work to give her a little time to work up a surprise for you, a surprise you have now ruined."

"What kind of surprise?"

"I don't know," Katherine said. "I suppose that is a good thing or else I would have told you what she had planned."

Regina smiled. "She's, she's amazing."

"It is so good to see you so happy," Katherine said. "You know when Emma first came to pick you up that night, I knew she had a thing for you. The look on her face when she saw you come out – even if you saw it as a budding friendship – she, I think she was in love with you from the beginning."

"We're so different," Regina said. "Yet, it feels so right. After Stephen, the way he neglected me, ran around with other women, I never thought I would meet someone like her. She's kind, attentive, caring …"

"And the sex is really good from what you have said."

"Yes, there is that as well," Regina smiled. "All I'm saying is that it feels like a fairy tale."

Katherine lifted her glass. "To getting your fairy tale."

Regina clinked glasses with her. "Now how much longer do we have to wait here?"

…

Regina unlocked the door and entered, immediately seeing the low lights, candlelight glow and Emma.

"Hi beautiful," Emma said, holding out a flower to her.

"Hi," Regina smiled, accepting the flower – a lily. "Thank you, but what is all of this?"

"Dinner," Emma said. "A la Henry and Emma."

"Really?"

"Yes. Come on, let's eat."

Emma took her hand and led her over to the table where Henry was standing behind his chair waiting for the two ladies to join him.

"HI mom,"

Regina moved over and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the top of his head. "Thank you for helping Emma with this."

"It was fun," he said. "And we even cleaned up after ourselves."

"I appreciate that. First rule of the kitchen …

"Keep your station in order," Henry said at the same time as Regina.

"He used that same line on me earlier," Emma said.

They all sat down and started to eat. Regina complimented both of them on the meal, and when Emma asked her tips for improving upon it, she said it was perfect in her mind. After the meal, Emma and Henry cleaned up while Regina went and changed clothes into something more relaxed and then they all sat down to watch a movie – Henry's choice which was Captain America Civil War. Emma already knew that Regina had watched all the movies based on comic book characters with Henry. Despite Regina saying that she only watched them for Henry's sake, Emma could tell she enjoyed them.

Once the movie was over Henry went to bed and Emma and Regina continued to sit on the couch together and Emma told her about Neal accosting her.

"You don't think he will try anything do you?" Regina asked.

"I made my position pretty clear," Emma said. "And I mean it, if he comes near you I don't care if there is a warrant out for him or not."

Regina gave her a kiss. "I love you, and if he does come near me, I will call the cops if he doesn't leave on his own. I don't want you involved with him anymore than you have had to."

"I don't want to be anywhere near him," Emma said. "Like I said, I want to turn my back on that past forever. This is where I want to be, with you and Henry."

They kissed some more until both decided to move it to the bedroom.

….

The two women laid wrapped up in each other, still naked after satisfying each other's needs.

"You will never guess what Henry asked me while we were preparing dinner," Emma said.

"You are right, I will probably not be able to guess it, so why don't you tell me."

"He asked if we were going to get married."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that was a conversation for you and I to have," Emma said. "And I'm not saying that this is the conversation right now, because if we were to, you know, well I would do it right. You know the ring and all of it."

"And what makes you think you would be the one asking me?" Regina smiled.

"I was the one to ask you out first," Emma pointed out.

"True," Regina said. "It took you long enough for you to get around doing that; so, at this rate I would be waiting forever for a proposal."

"Oh, no you didn't," Emma said, starting to tickle to Regina in punishment. They tussled around a bit until Emma ended up on top of Regina. They paused a moment, looking into each other's eyes, before Emma kissed her, deeply. After a few more kisses, Emma raised herself up again. "I love you Regina. More than I thought I could ever love someone. And when the time comes, I will get down on one knee, hold up a ring that will pale in comparison to you, and I will ask you to marry me. You, of course, will say yes and Henry can be my best man or maybe be the one to walk you down the aisle and give you away. Then we will have a lot of honeymoon sex."

Regina laughed at this last part and pulled Emma down on her for more kisses. She got Emma to move on to her side.

"Now, one of these days," Regina said. "I'm going to surprise you with a ring. It won't pale in comparison to your beauty, it will complement it, because I will only get the most perfect one for you. Will I kneel before you to ask, I don't know, maybe. Maybe I will just wait until after some mind-blowing sex one night and then pull the ring out from under the pillow and not even say a word, just give you that look that tells you how much I want this, want you and I forever."

"I don't know about you, but I think it's time for some mind-blowing sex," Emma said, kissing her once more.

…

**Five years later**

"Come on little fella," Emma said, scooping up her son, David, who was despite being a toddler seemed to have mastered the art of running from bath time. He laughed as she picked him up and tickled him. "Regina, I got him."

She walked him back to the bathroom where Regina was waiting to give David his bath. Emma settled the ornery child into the tub and then backed off toward the door where she stood watching her wife bathe their son. She glanced over at the top of the toilet where Regina's wedding ring sat. Regina always took it off when bathing David after it slipped it off of her hand once and she had a minor heart attack when she thought she had lost it forever down the drain. As it turned out, it has fallen into David's toy boat, but after that Regina refused to wear it at bath time.

"Hey, we going to finish this game or not?" Henry asked as he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Yeah kid," Emma said, playfully pushing him. A couple of years ago, she would have put her arm around him, but he had gotten too tall for that. He was no longer that little kid she had gone on a "date" with.

She gave one look at her wife and son and then followed her other son out to the main room to play some video games. She had never brought up the idea of adopting Henry, but when he asked her to do it, she couldn't say no. He wanted their family to be complete and even though she didn't think a piece of paper would change that, she gladly signed the papers.

There were days where she still couldn't believe this was her life. She couldn't believe she was married to Regina. She couldn't believe David and Henry were her boys. The day she gave birth to David was one she would cherish for the rest of her life. They had considered adopting another child like Henry, but in the end they decided to use invitro fertilization so she could carry their child. She was worried at first about how Regina would feel about it since she was unable to carry the child herself, but Regina was nothing but supportive. Every step of the way Regina was there for her.

After the bath, Regina and Emma traded spots and Emma tucked their son and read him a story as he drifted off to sleep holding his favorite stuffed dinosaur toy. Another half hour of game time with Henry and she gave up for the night, going off to bed where Regina was already at – sitting up and reading a book.

Quickly changing clothes, she got into bed, grabbed the book from her wife's hands and tossed it on the floor.

"Hey."

"Hey what," Emma said. "This is the first night that my wife has been home this week so forgive me if I don't want her spending the whole night reading when there are so many other ways to spend an evening."

"Oh, is that so?" Regina replied. "And what did you have in mind?"

"Mind-blowing sex?"

"I could go for that, after all, it does work out for us," Regina said, looking down at the engagement ring she had placed on Emma's hand nearly four years ago.

"Yes, it does," Emma said. "But just remember, I asked you out first."

**The end**


End file.
